A New Day
by LemonStar
Summary: ..Daryl/Beth.. "Fifty Four Days" World. "I like babying all of you though," she confessed though it wasn't much of a confession because Daryl already knew that. "Makes me feel important," she then said in a quieter tone. "You're the most important person left in this whole damn world," he told her lowly and she felt her stomach somersault as he leaned down and kissed her once more.
1. Baby

**There have been a few ideas I have gotten for this universe and I figured it would just be easier, creating a new story and adding a new chapter each time I write out one of those ideas.**

* * *

...

Spencer came to get Beth in the middle of night when it was so cold and seemed like it would snow but none had fallen yet. Aaron was on guard outside – his name having been pulled for the first shift – and Beth and Daryl were asleep in their bed in their room off the kitchen. He tried to creep into the room as quietly as he could but Daryl was a light sleeper and as soon as Spencer put one foot into the room, Daryl's eyes were open and he was looking at him.

"Rosita's water broke," he whispered and after a moment, as if his tired brain needed that time to catch up, Daryl nodded and then gently shook Beth, whispering her name.

"Beth," he said and she murmured something, nestling closer to him, still remaining asleep. Daryl shook her gently again, his lips to her ear. "Beth, it's time," he said and those were the magic words to get her eyes to snap open.

She flew into a sitting position; all sleep instantly gone from her eyes when she saw Spencer standing there as if his presence there confirmed to her that she wasn't dreaming. She wore a pair of cotton shorts with lace at the hems and a thick cable-knit sweater that had once belonged to a man and that was so big on her, it nearly hid the fact that she was wearing anything underneath at all. She didn't change. She simply tugged on a pair of thick socks to wear downstairs and rolled the sweater sleeves up to her elbow. Daryl sat up as well, swinging his legs over the side of the bed, lacing on his boots.

After braiding her hair back to keep it from her face for however long this took, she then turned to Daryl. "Can you wake Anna? I'm going to need her," she said and he nodded, grabbing his coat from where he had hung it on the corner of the door that led into the master bathroom. Lastly, she took off her wedding ring so it wouldn't get bloody or lost.

Beth then hurried out with quickened steps, Spencer following behind, as they both went down into the basement where Spencer and Rosita slept. And after tugging on his coat and grabbing his crossbow, Daryl headed down the hallway and into the front little room that had once been an office for the man who had lived here. He poked his head into the room and saw that the candle had been lit on the table next to the bed and the little seven-year-old girl – at least that's how old they thought she was – Anna was already sitting up, tugging on a sweatshirt.

She saw Daryl in the doorway. "I heard," she mumbled, still sounding half asleep. She yanked on her own little boots and Daryl bent down, helping her tie them tightly, and then, she left the room and Daryl followed after her, both of them going down the stairs into the basement.

In the basement, they had the solar powered lamps and more candles so if the delivery was to happen at night, there would be enough light to guide them. Rosita was sitting up in the bed they had moved down there months earlier – taking it from another of the houses in the neighborhood – and she was already sweaty, her hair matted to her face.

When Rosita and Spencer had told the others that she was pregnant, there had been worry, of course, and fear. Women had been giving birth for thousands of years without hospitals but it was definitely a luxury they had gotten used to and so many things could go wrong during a birth. Beth did what she did though and dove head first into research and preparation. They all knew that Beth would be the one to deliver the baby; that of anyone, Beth was the best person possible to deliver the baby.

And when it had been warmer, Beth had gathered flowers and roots and herbs that she had read might help along the way and now that winter was upon them, everything was dried and stored properly, ready to be used.

Daryl stood at the bottom of the steps, looking uncomfortable, as Beth stood next to the bed, holding Rosita's wrist, keeping note of her pulse. Spencer was on the bed, sitting beside her, holding her hand, which she squeezed when a contraction ripped through her. She gritted her teeth together and squeezed her eyes shut, and Beth brushed hair back from her face.

"Start counting," Beth then told Spencer. They didn't have a watch and had to keep track of the contractions someway. She looked to Daryl. "Can you help Anna get a pot of warm water and then maybe, you should go help Aaron keep watch outside?"

Daryl quickly nodded, thankful for some sort of direction. This was Beth's show and they were all going to do whatever she said.

"And Anna," she began to say to the girl.

"I know," Anna nodded before Beth could finish and both she and Daryl headed up the stairs.

Beth, herself, felt her heart hammering in her chest but she wasn't going to show how scared she was. She could do this. She had been reading any book she could get her hands on over the past few months and no one knew flowers and herbs like she did. When she had been younger, there had been one of their cows, pregnant and in labor, and she had helped her daddy and Maggie with the birth. No, Rosita wasn't a cow but at least Beth had done something like this before. She just had to keep a clear head and stay calm and they would all get through this.

She refused to allow her mind to dwell on Lori tonight.

She went to the foot of the bed and instructed Rosita to bend her knees and spread her legs and after squirting her hands with antiseptic from the nearby bottle, Beth took a look just as another contraction ripped through her body.

"Three minutes," Spencer informed her and Beth nodded.

She looked to Rosita and gave her a smile. "It's happening fast."

"Thank God," the woman muttered, already feeling exhausted and blinded with pain.

Daryl and Anna returned then and Anna set the bucket of water down on the floor next to Beth as Daryl set the wood crate down that Beth had put together. The birthing crate, they called it.

Taking out her mortar and pestle, Beth quickly took some carnation petals and crushed them, adding them to a cup of warm water. Rosita didn't ask. She simply drank it down when Beth handed it to her without waiting for an explanation.

"Carnation reduces stress and fatigue," she told them all.

She then took out the hyssop they had been growing that summer. It had been an absolute miracle of God when they had found the packet of hyssop seeds since they were native in Southern Europe and the Middle East and not to Georgia but they found a pack – Spencer, Daryl and Aaron had been doing a lot more runs that summer – and were able to grow their own. Hyssop had been used as far back as Biblical times and helped with blood circulation. The last thing any of them wanted was Rosita to get a blood clot.

Rosita tossed that back, too, as if taking a shot.

"Okay," Beth took a deep breath. She crushed up some peony petals. "For muscle pain, cramps and menstrual discomfort. It's the best I can do," she then said, handing Rosita the cup once more and Rosita gulped that eagerly down.

"It's better than nothing," Rosita smiled at her.

"And then, just because…" Beth then gave Rosita some ginger. "Okay. We'll see how it goes from here on out to see if you need something more." She looked to Daryl. "She's probably going to scream…" she then said and Daryl nodded, swinging his crossbow into his hands.

"Aaron and me will handle it," he grunted to them all. "You just worry 'bout down here."

He gave a small smile to Rosita then before turning and heading back up the stairs.

"Anna, make sure you keep Rosita as cool as you can," Beth told the girl and Anna nodded, her face set with determination at her task, and she went to the side of the bed, taking a cloth and dunking it in the bucket of water, she wiped at Rosita's sweaty face with it.

"Can I push yet?" Rosita asked after another contraction and gripping Spencer's hand as tightly as she could, probably breaking it but she didn't care right then and he was smart enough to not complain about it either.

"No!" Beth instantly shook her head and said the refusal too hard and hurried. "Don't push until I tell you, Rosita. You're not wide enough yet and if you push…"

She thought of Lori. She couldn't help it. She hadn't been in the room when Lori had given birth but one night, Maggie had confided in her what happened; of Lori pushing too soon and tearing and bleeding out in the process. Beth was not going to let anything happen to Rosita or this baby. She could do this. They all could.

Her heart was pounding and she was so scared and she could just imagine how Rosita was feeling. But Rosita was trusting her – they all were – and Beth wouldn't let any of them down.

Outside, in the darkness, Daryl found Aaron walking the fence along the back of their yard. It was so cold, their breath appeared in front of them with each exhale; sharp white clouds that disappeared centimeters in front of their faces. One of their latest projects was adding another layer of insulation to the garage so their goat and chickens wouldn't freeze to death in this weather. Beth joked that maybe they were entering another ice age because none of them could remember the South ever being _this_ cold during the winter but Daryl didn't know how much of a joke it actually was. Without so many people around anymore killing her slowly, the earth seemed to be setting itself right to where it wanted to be again.

"How's it going in there?" Aaron asked once Daryl came to stand with him.

"Beth's handlin' it," Daryl said, taking a cigarette and lighter out of his pocket.

"No doubt about that," Aaron said with a slight nod and small smile. "A baby," he then said softly, looking over the fence to the darkness of the woods that laid out before them. "No matter what, life keeps going."

Daryl nodded and took a puff from his cigarette. He thought of Lori and the day Lil' Asskicker had been born; how he and Maggie had had to race and find the baby something for her to eat.

Hopefully, that wouldn't happen this time. Hopefully, Rosita would still be here to feed the baby. There was no reason why she wouldn't be. If anyone could get a woman through childbirth safely nowadays, it was Beth. There was pretty much nothing that girl couldn't do. She could even make them goat cheese and bake them bread. Delivering a baby would probably be a walk in the park for Beth. The baby and Rosita would both be safe and healthy and Aaron was right. Life would keep going. They had everything they needed here. Fences and trenches, weapons, food and water. Hell, they even had some livestock to help them with their diets. Daryl even got a full night's sleep some nights. And now, they would have a baby, too. It still was amazing to him if he stopped and thought about everything they had been able to do since the prison and finding this place.

Rosita screamed. She couldn't help it.

Beth kneeled at the foot of the bed, telling her to push, and Rosita did, screaming the whole time. Spencer had situated himself behind her, his back against the bed's headboard and Rosita's back to his chest, both of his hands holding both of hers and letting her push back against him, doing his best to say words of encouragement in her ear.

"It's okay," Beth told her over the noise. "You're doing great!" She then assured her. "Take a minute to breathe and don't push again until I say."

And when Rosita did push again, she screamed.

They had all known the labor wouldn't be a quiet one and they had expected walkers to be drawn to the noise. They normally lived quietly and they dealt with walkers every day but it had been a long time since more than four at the fences. Aaron continued handling the back as Daryl went to the front to handle the walkers there. He drew his knife out and worked on putting the eight walkers down as Rosita screamed again from inside. It was such a quiet night, he wondered how far her screams were being carried. At least they didn't have to worry about getting living people's attention. Screams were a normal sound nowadays and if a person heard someone else screaming, they stayed away. There was no good reason for screaming.

"Anna, the knife," Beth ordered to her. "Hold it over the flame like Daryl showed you to."

Anna nodded and quickly took one of the hunting knifes, bringing it to one of the candles so she could sterilize the blade.

"You're almost crowning, Rosita," Beth told her. "Are you ready to push again?"

Rosita didn't even hesitate before she was pushing and screaming again. Beth wasn't going to think of how disgusting it was – seeing the baby's head start to crown. It was natural and it was a miracle; a miracle she was in the middle of helping.

"Keep pushing, Rosita!" Beth called to her over the screams.

Rosita pushed her hips forward as she pushed her back against Spencer's chest and squeezed his hands, another scream tearing from her throat. She could tell when the baby was out, slipping into Beth's hands, and she collapsed with exhaustion against Spencer. It was quiet for a passing second and they both craned their necks to see Beth rubbing and patting the baby's back, clearing its mouth, and then, like a crack of lightning, the baby's cries filled the room.

And with that, Rosita burst into tears.

"It's a boy," Beth smiled at them both, tears in her eyes, shock slowly seeping over her body.

She had done it. They all had. Rosita was fine and there was a healthy baby, screaming his lungs off. They did it.

"Anna, the knife and get the blanket, too," she said and the girl quickly passed Beth the knife so she could cut the umbilical cord and then hurried to get the soft blanket from the birthing crate that they had washed especially for the baby to be wrapped in.

Beth was careful as she cut the cord and wrapped the baby in the blanket and then with a smile and tears, she passed the baby into Rosita's waiting arms. The baby was still crying but that didn't matter because it sounded like his lungs were absolutely healthy and both Rosita and Spencer looked at their son, both laughing and crying in amazement.

Anna was staring at the baby in amazement as Beth began cleaning up. The room was so hot, it was almost stifling despite how cold it was outside and it smelled of blood and sweat. Just a second ago, that baby had been inside of Rosita and now, it was here, in her arms, his cries finally quieting down. It was amazing. A baby. An actual baby.

Hearing footsteps, they all turned their heads to see Daryl and Aaron coming down the stairs and both men seemed to freeze when they saw the baby actually in Rosita's arms. They had certainly heard it but seeing it was something else entirely.

"It's a boy!" Anna happily exclaimed.

Aaron grinned and came to the bed to get a closer look and to congratulate Rosita and Spencer and Beth stood up, slowly, feeling sweaty and absolutely exhausted. Daryl looked at her for a moment as she looked at the scene with a faint smile on her face. Even sweaty with blood on her sweater, hands and arms, she looked amazing. And then, feeling his eyes on her, Beth turned her head and looked at him, her smile still in place. Daryl moved then, closing the space between them, and Beth seemed to instantly sink against him as he wrapped his arms around her. She didn't hug him in return though – not wanting to get blood on him. She exhaled a breath and rested her head against his chest and felt like she could fall asleep right then and there with him holding her up.

Daryl settled his eyes on the bed, almost shaking his head in disbelief. Rosita had done it and so had Beth. The baby was here, alive and healthy, and Rosita was still here, too.

"What are you gonna name 'im?" Daryl asked out loud, aware of the fact that his arms were the thing keeping Beth from dropping to the floor right then and he tightened them.

Spencer answered. "Aiden. After my older brother." He left the bed then and came up to Daryl and Beth. He wrapped his arms around them both and with a whispered voice, he said, "Thank you" as he gave his arms a squeeze.

And Beth and Daryl knew that he was thanking them for too many things – none of which actually needed thanks at all.

After a few more minutes, Aaron had to return to watch outside. He and Daryl had dispatched the almost two dozen walkers that had rambled up to their fences during the labor and all things were quite once again but they couldn't keep the yard unattended. Anna, too wired to sleep now, grabbed Aaron's hand and pled with him that she be on watch, too.

"'m gonna go get a bath ready for you," Daryl told her and she smiled up at him, letting him see how that was one of the best things she had ever heard.

He kissed her forehead and then headed up the stairs and Aiden, who had fallen quiet, began whimpering again. Beth knew how some people were bothered by crying babies. During church, with her family, Shawn would always sigh so heavily if a baby even so much as cooed anywhere in the room during service, but to Beth, there had never been a better sound. A baby was crying in their basement because the baby was _alive_ as was his mother, Rosita still holding him securely in her arms and looking as if she had never seen anything more amazing.

"I think he's hungry," Beth said, coming towards the bed but with her hands still bloody, she didn't make a move to touch them.

Rosita nodded and after some adjusting, she was able to lift the tee-shirt she was wearing, exposing her chest. While Beth had read books on the delivery, Rosita had read the parenting books; everything she could get her hands on, putting much attention on breast feeding.

"Spencer, while Aiden's eating, you can take the cloth Anna was using and you can wash Rosita up," Beth suggested though it wasn't really a suggestion at all. "We'll get you to the bath tomorrow," Beth said, looking back to Rosita and Aiden. "Both of you," she added.

After a moment, Aiden finally took his mother's nipple into his mouth and began to drink and they all watched him for a moment. Rosita then lifted her head, looking to Beth with tears pooling at the edges of her eyes.

"You're amazing," Rosita said in a hushed voice and Beth felt her own tears building as she smiled and bent down, kissing Rosita on the head.

"Look who's talking," she replied.

…

There were two bathrooms in the house. The master bathroom connected to Beth and Daryl's bedroom was the larger of the two with a Jacuzzi bathtub where they stored all of the water collected from the rain barrels outside and when it snowed and they brought it inside to melt. They had found drying racks originally meant for clothes and had set them up, tying flowers and herbs to them, drying them out in upside down bushels and getting them through the months where they couldn't grow them outside.

The second bathroom was smaller and they took turns using that tub when they couldn't bathe themselves in the creek. It was a normal-sized tub and didn't use nearly as much water as the Jacuzzi tub did when they wanted to wash in a few inches of water.

By the time Beth came upstairs, Daryl had already filled the tub with about three inches and had been able to warm some of it by the fire before carrying it into the bathroom. He had even added one of those lilac bath salts that they had found and Beth sighed with relief when she came into the bathroom and saw the water and smelled the floral scent. It was almost dawn and it had been a long night and she was completely exhausted. But first, she had to clean herself up because she felt disgusting.

Daryl closed the door and she began immediately peeling her clothes off, leaving them on the floor for the time being, and she then climbed into the tub, gratefully sitting in the water that didn't even cover her thighs – not that that mattered – and Daryl sat down on the closed toilet, watching her as she drew her knees to her chest, hugging them, and rested her cheek on her arm. Even with blood and sweat on her skin, she was the prettiest thing he had ever seen and he knew that she always would be. Prettiest, smartest _and_ toughest girl left alive, he knew without a doubt, and she belonged with him.

Beth's eyes were closed for a few minutes and he would have thought she had fallen asleep but then she opened them and smiled at him when she saw him watching her.

"It's amazing, isn't it?" She asked. "A baby."

His own lips quirked a little because it _was_ amazing. He couldn't deny that even if he wanted to.

She picked up the bar of soap and washcloth and began scrubbing at her skin.

"Should be easier this time 'round," he mused out loud. "Rosita can feed the kid and it doesn' look like Spencer's gonna be losin' his mind anytime soon."

And Beth laughed at that even though she felt awful immediately after for doing so.

They were quiet for a few minutes as Beth washed herself and then slipped down, wetting her hair and massaging her scalp with shampoo. She laid on her back for a moment longer than she had to, looking up at the white ceiling, still able to feel Daryl watching every one of her moves. Putting her hand on the edge of the bathtub, she then pulled herself back up into a sitting position and turned her body so she could rest her chin on the bathtub's edge, looking at Daryl as he sat just a few inches away on the toilet lid, looking at her.

Sometimes, she liked looking at him. Just looking at him. And she would think about all of the days they had spent together up until this very moment; everything they had gone through together and everything they had been able to accomplish and build. Together. Always together. Of every person in their family and in the prison, there was a reason why he was the one she had gotten out with. Now, he wasn't only her husband. He was her partner in every sense of the word. It was because of Daryl that she felt like she could do anything.

She couldn't even imagine the kind of person she would be now if she had been with anyone else. What would have happened if she had run with Maggie? Maggie was her older sister and she had loved her but Maggie had insisted on always sheltering her and treating her like a child. With Daryl, he gave her the encouragement she needed to try and grow and better herself. No matter what she said she wanted to try next – whether that was trying to make goat cheese or finding an apothecary case – Daryl just nodded and did what he could to help her.

Without Daryl, she wouldn't have thought to even attempt most of these things. She certainly wouldn't had been able to deliver a baby. She loved Maggie but Maggie had always made her feel weak; like a burden. With Daryl, she felt like she could do anything in the world.

Daryl turned and grabbed a towel from the pile they kept on the sink counter and unfolding it, he stood up. Beth stood up then, too, water rushing from her body, and she carefully stepped out of the tub. Daryl wrapped her up in the towel, leaving his arms around her, and she tilted her head up to look to his face, his eyes already down, settled on hers.

She smiled then. "I'm going to have to start making breakfast soon," she said.

He smirked at that. "You're takin' the mornin' off, Beth. Think we're all big enough to be makin' our own breakfasts without you babyin' us."

"I like babying all of you though," she confessed though it wasn't much of a confession because Daryl already knew that. "Makes me feel important," she then said in a quieter tone.

Daryl stared at her for a moment and then was the one to lean down and press his lips to hers for a kiss that was a little bit harder than she had been expecting. It was short though and he pulled his lips back before she could properly reciprocate. His eyes stared intently into hers.

"You're the most important person left in this whole damn world," he told her lowly and she felt her stomach somersault as he leaned down and kissed her once more.

…

* * *

 **Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to review! (PS - like I did with _The White House_ , if you have your own ideas you want to read for this universe, let me know and I will do my best to write them if I'm inspired enough!)**


	2. Growl

**Thank you very much to those who read and took a second to leave me a review. You guys are awesome and I get some of the best reviews for this universe. I love writing this world but it does take a bit of research so thank you for letting me know that you love it, too, and I'm not wasting my time. I got some awesome prompts and am eager for inspiration to strike the muse so I can write them!**

* * *

…

 **Part Two.** Growl.

It seemed like no matter how early Anna tried to wake up, someone was always up before her. Usually Beth. She was already in the kitchen, her hands in a bowl of something, mixing up whatever she was making for breakfast that morning and the person who had been on the third shift of watch was usually just coming in and Beth gave them a glass of water to drink. If it was really cold out, she'd give them a hot cup of tea. They had recently found a few boxes of tea bags on a run and Anna hadn't liked it but then Beth had added a dollop of honey and a little bit of milk to it and it didn't taste that awful after that. She still preferred the box of hot cocoa packets they had found even though the chocolate taste was barely obvious anymore.

This morning, Anna practically jumped from her bed as if it was Christmas morning and it was so cold out, maybe it was, but she didn't really think about things like that anymore. There hadn't been Christmas for a few years now but this was maybe as close as it came to it anymore because she could smell bread in the air. Beth was baking bread this morning.

Outside her window that overlooked the front yard and the cul-de-sac their house sat on, she saw that the sky streaked with pinks and purples and there was frost on the glass pane. Just standing there, she could see her breath puff out in front of her through her nose. In the winter, some nights, they all slept in the family room to be close to the crackling fire but other nights, they all slept in their beds, buried beneath heavy quilts that Daryl had found in the antiques store.

She dressed herself quickly. She kept all of her clothes – not that there were many – folded into neat piles on top of the desk that had pushed up against the wall across from her bed. Finding clothes for her had been one of their easier tasks that they had done. Anna didn't ask why but in the back of her mind, she knew one. Not that many people her size were around anymore. She wondered if there were any little kids left in the world anymore besides her and Aiden. Finding clothes for the little baby had been even easier.

She tugged on her long underwear and thermal shirt and then her blue jeans, a tee-shirt, a thick wool sweater, thick socks and she grabbed her hairbrush before she left the room, hurrying down the hallway for the kitchen. She already knew Beth was awake and she saw her in the family room, in front of the fire, checking on the food she was cooking that morning. Rosita was awake, too, sitting at the table with Aiden in her arms, the baby drinking his own breakfast.

When she first saw Rosita feeding Aiden – they called it breast-feeding – Anna had never seen anything like it before. When she had a baby sister, her mom hadn't fed her like that. And she had asked Rosita all sorts of questions and Rosita, with a tired but patient smile, answered all of them. Spencer didn't seem to have a problem with it and in fact, whenever he saw it, he smiled. Aaron always turned his head away politely and Daryl was always quick to look away if he walked into the room when Rosita was feeding Aiden and everyone could see how red his ears got. It always made Anna giggle and Daryl would just narrow his eyes at her, which usually always made her giggle harder.

"Good morning," Rosita greeted her in a soft morning voice.

"Good morning," Anna beamed and then came, kissing the top of Aiden's head and then kissing Rosita on the cheek.

"I'll do your hair as soon as he's finished," Rosita promised her and Anna nodded, setting her hairbrush down on her table.

"Good morning," Beth said, leaving the fire and coming back into the kitchen. She bent down and kissed Anna on the head on her way to the counter. "Hot chocolate?" She then asked.

"Yes, please," Anna nodded quickly.

She went into the family room and grabbed her boots, tugging them on and knotting them tightly in the way that Daryl had showed her. And then, she took her coat down from where it hung on the hook on the wall next to the door and slipped it on. It was a bit big on her but it was warm and she would grow into it. And then, with her scarfs, mitten and hat, she opened the back door and hurried out, closing it once again.

It was so cold out here, the air seemed to cut in her lungs and she couldn't remember it ever getting this cold in the winter before. She had never even seen snow before until last winter. But they all liked snow. Snow could be taken inside and melted down and they had water. And the walkers hardly moved when it was this cold. Most walkers that she had seen in the woods when out with Beth, foraging, were just standing there as if they had forgotten what they were supposed to be doing otherwise.

Spencer was on watch that morning and he was in the backyard, standing at the back fence, looking out over the frozen grass, keeping his eyes set to the bare trees of the woods beyond. He heard the crunching of snow and he turned his head, seeing Anna, and she smiled and waved, and he smiled and waved back and she then hurried into the outhouse that Daryl had built along the side of the house. It was hard to go to the bathroom with so many layers but she managed and it didn't even smell in there because the pee in the bucket had frozen overnight.

She was excited for today. Nervous but excited and she was eager to show that she could do it. She was only seven and they still treated her like the little kid she was but she was allowed to go on runs and they taught her how to defend herself and how to kill walkers and they taught her how to keep herself alive. She was a kid but they made sure that she was a tough one.

And Beth had taught her so much – about flowers and herbs and plants and how practically everything had a useful purpose for them – and Anna didn't want to let her down today. She knew what she was looking for and she could do this without Beth having to watch over her.

Hurrying back inside, she squirted her hands with the hand sanitizer from the bottle on the counter and took off her outer layers once more. Beth set down a mug of the hot chocolate on the table and Anna sat down at the table. Aiden had finished eating now and Rosita had shifted him up in her arms, patting his back lightly, waiting for him to burp. They all loved him but they were all relieved that he was a quiet baby. It seemed as if he had already adjusted to this world and Anna hardly ever woke up at night to his cries.

Holding the mug with both hands, Anna blew on the steaming drink and took a small sip.

Hearing steps on the wooden garage steps, she lifted her eyes and saw Aaron coming through the laundry room, a pail in one hand and a basket in the other. He set both down on the counter for Beth.

"That enough?" He asked.

Beth looked at the basket of eggs from their chickens and the pail of milk from Lucky the goat. She then nodded and smiled up at Aaron. "More than enough. Thank you. I've made you a cup of tea," she said and handed him his own steaming drink.

He smiled his thanks and came to sit down with Rosita and Anna at the table. He smiled at Anna around the rim of his mug and Anna smiled at him around the rim of hers. The back door opened and Spencer stepped through, closing it as quickly as he could so the cold didn't rush in after him. He smiled at them all.

"Good morning," he greeted happily. Spencer was a morning person – even when he had been on watch since three o'clock that morning. Everyone echoed good morning back to him and Rosita stood up with Aiden in her arms.

"He won't burp," she said.

Spencer took off his coat, hanging it on his hook – everyone had their own hook – and took off his gloves, scarf and hat before taking his infant son into his arms. They had found Rosita yarn and she had knitting needles, equipped with the skill to use them, and she had worked all through the summer and fall, when she had been put on bed rest by Beth during the last weeks of her pregnancy, and had seemed to knit nonstop until everyone had scarves and hats to wear.

He sat down in another chair at the table, taking his turn patting Aiden on the back, and Beth came, putting a cup of steaming hot chocolate down in front of him. Aaron finished his tea and stood up, handing Beth the cup as she handed him one of the iron skillets and then basket of eggs. He took both to the fire and knelt down in front of the flames. They didn't have eggs every morning for breakfast – sometimes, Beth made something else with them – but when they did, Aaron always was the one to fry them up. They had learned that Aaron made the perfect fried egg.

Rosita got up to get Aaron the pepper shaker and the stack of plates. With her own cup of tea, Beth sat down in a chair next to Anna.

"Let me hear one more time," Beth said and Anna paused, swallowing the warm mouthful of hot chocolate down her throat.

"Rose Hips. Watercress, but only after Daryl lets me know that the water isn't dangerous. Cattails but not the fuzzy tops. Bring back the lower stalks. And burdock and acorns, if I can," she recited what she and Beth had been going over for the past few days.

Even in the winter, Beth was teaching her that there was still plenty that could be foraged and useful to them.

"Good girl," Beth smiled and Anna smiled in return.

She had never gone foraging without Beth but the adults had been talking and they felt it was time for Anna to try. It wasn't something they liked to talk about but something, one of these days, might happen to Beth and they relied on her for too much – practically everything when it came to food and medicine – and they had to see if Anna was able to do it on her own. Just in case. They never said those thoughts out loud though.

Beth taught her and Anna listened to every word, doing her best to remember. Beth had made a list of what she wanted to try and find and had explained to Anna what they would do with it.

The rose hips berries were fat and red and boiled down, they could make jam or syrup or even tea. They were also an excellent source of vitamin C and had a flavor that was sort of like roses but without tasting like a flower. Watercress was said to actually taste sweeter in the winter and could be found growing in tight, bright green bunches near water. Beth would be able to make them watercress soup. The lower stalks of cattails were packed with vitamin C and potassium and Beth wasn't too sure what she would do with those yet but they were supposed to be starchy and sweet so they knew she would think of something. Burdock would be boiled down and eaten like any of their other vegetables and was supposed to taste like a cross between parsnips and carrots. And finally, the acorns would be soaked in warm water and then could be ground into flour.

Beth didn't know how much – if any – of these things that Anna would be able to find but Anna was determined to find most – if not all – of it to bring back for the family.

As Aaron was bringing plates of eggs back to the table and Aiden had finally burped, the bedroom door off the kitchen opened and Daryl stepped out, awake and fully dressed. No one ever said a word when Daryl slept later than the others. They knew he usually didn't get nearly enough sleep and if anyone needed it, it was him. Beth smiled and stood up to get him a cup of tea and she had been so surprised when she – and he, too – had discovered that he actually liked it and he gave her a kiss on the side of the head as he went to sit at the table.

The family all sat at the table and ate their breakfast of fried eggs and smelled the bread baking on the rack over the fire that they would be having for dinner that night. Beth liked to plan their meals ahead and they knew that with the milk helping, Beth would be making a thick chowder with some of their canned corn. Something to stick to their bones in this cold weather. They didn't know how long winter would last but already, it seemed to be lasting far longer than winter ever had – with grey days and black nights and the temperature always colder than it was just the day before.

"We all ready?" Daryl asked, his voice rougher than usual in the morning after he had gone hours without using it. He looked to Anna as he chewed on a bite of his egg.

Anna nodded. "I know exactly what I'm looking for," she said and Beth smiled at her.

…

After making sure that Anna had her knife and Beth gave her the basket and Daryl had his larger knife as well as his crossbow and all of his bolts, Anna hugged everyone and Daryl gave Beth a kiss and she hugged him tightly and then they were off.

The sun had come out but it was weak and offered absolutely no warmth. When Rosita had been knitting hats, Daryl told her to make Anna's red so they wouldn't be able to lose her.

They walked into the woods and Daryl had taught her how to quiet her steps and she kept an eye out for walkers and all of the things she wanted to find and bring back with her as Daryl did the same, his bow always loaded and ready to go. She knew there was a grizzly bear who lived in these woods and she had seen him from a distance – once over the summer. She wondered where he was hibernating during these frigid months. She wondered if there was a female grizzly somewhere near and there'd be little grizzles come spring.

They walked further into the woods than Anna had ever walked before and she wondered how big these woods were and if Daryl would be able to find their way back. Seeing flashes of red up ahead, she reached over and pulled on his sleeve. With her mitten, she did her best to point and Daryl saw, giving his head a nod. Walking closer to the red, when Anna saw that it was, in fact, bushels of Rose Hips, she burst into a smile and began picking as many as she could, working slowly so she didn't squeeze any and placed them in the basket as carefully as she could. Daryl stood next to her, his eyes always moving.

"Where does that burdock you've been talkin' 'bout grow?" Daryl asked.

"They grow on bushes. Heart-shaped leaves and reddish stems. And they're big and woolly and you should only handle them if you're wearing gloves," Anna recited, remembering what Beth had read to her from her plants book. "Beth can make jam with these," she then said and looked up to Daryl because whenever his wife was mentioned, the man's lips usually quirked.

And then were quirking upwards now though Daryl never really fully smiled except on the rarest of occasions and Anna continued picking the red berries.

"How did Beth get so good at all of this?" She asked curiously.

Daryl shrugged. "She taught herself. When it was just her and me, she wanted to know how to keep us both 'live 'cause we didn' have that much supplies but we had these woods 'round us."

"She's amazing," Anna said quietly, more to herself, but Daryl heard and he nodded his head once in agreement.

After plucking the red Rose Hips berries, they moved on, heading east now. Daryl had taught her how to rely on the sun for telling directions. She didn't know how long they walked. They stopped after a while and Beth had packed some food into the pack on Daryl's back and they ate tree bark flavored with cinnamon and drank from a thermos of water. They were able to find the burdock and she was grateful for her mittens as she carefully pulled each from the bush and they put them into Daryl's back so they wouldn't harm the berries. And they found acorns, too, scattered on the forest floor.

"I wonder what acorn flour tastes like," Anna mused as Daryl crouched down and helped her with the acorns, placing them in her basket but didn't wait for an answer. She didn't expect Daryl to answer. Daryl probably wouldn't know either. "Don't take them all. We need to save these for the squirrels, too," she then told him.

Daryl didn't say anything to that but she saw his lips twitch again.

"We're doing good," she then said as they got to their feet again and Daryl nodded.

"You gettin' cold?" He asked her.

"I've been cold the whole time. But we can't go back yet. I need to find us watercress," she said.

"Beth's not expectin' you to find everythin'. We don't even know if watercress is in these woods," he said but she didn't want to hear that.

"Come on," was all she said and they began walking again.

They had a creek close to their house that they used for drinking water, laundry and bathing. She didn't know how far they had walked but they eventually came across another creek. At least, she thought it was a different creek but maybe it was all part of the same one. Anna walked closer to the water, keeping her eyes sharply on the lookout for the tight green bunches growing nearby. It shouldn't be hard to find. Everything else was grey, brown or white with snow. Finding the watercress should be just as obvious as finding the red berries.

She wanted to find that watercress. She wanted to bring it back to Beth and watch as she make them soup. She wanted to bring everything back to Beth and watch as she smile and everyone tell her that she's just as important to them as everyone else in their family.

She lifted her eyes to look to the other side of the creek and she froze when she heard dead leaves crinkling beneath the snow. Daryl heard it, too, and brought his crossbow around, pointing it in the direction where the sound had come from.

Anna gasped when she saw the beast appear on the other side of the creek. A dog! She hadn't seen a dog in so long. She looked at the dog standing across from her, staring at her, and she recognized it as the same kind of dog her neighbor used to have. He had called it a German Shepherd and it had been named Kaiser. She wondered what this dog's name was. An actual dog. She almost clapped her hands with giddiness. She wondered if they could bring the dog back with them. He'd be a friend to Lucky the Goat and he'd be able to help with watches and keep the rabbits from their garden. She wondered what they could name him.

"Anna," Daryl said in a low voice. "Get back here."

Anna didn't notice the harshness or tightness in his tone. She looked back at him and smiled, wondering why he was pointing his crossbow at it. It was just a dog. "A dog, Daryl!" She told him happily before looking back to the dog. "Hi, boy," she said as she took another step closer to the creek. "Hi there."

"Anna," Daryl said her name again, more harsh.

"Come here, boy," she beckoned towards the dog and began holding her hand out towards him, wondering if maybe he was just shy. It had probably been a long time since he had seen a person who wasn't a walker.

She saw the way the dog started getting lower to the ground and the way he growled then, showing his teeth. Anna figured that he was probably scared of her. He didn't have to be though. She would take care of him. She promised!

"Anna!" Daryl said again and the dog sprang up, propelling himself forward over the water.

She heard the ejection of the bolt and the sharp cry of the animal as the bolt sailed right into his head and the dog landed with a heavy thud on the ground. He was still and everything around them was so quiet as it usually seemed to be after Daryl shot something.

Anna stared at the dog – now dead – with the bolt sticking from his body and she shook her head slightly. But… why… It was just a dog! He wasn't going to hurt her. And she didn't mean to because she knew doing it didn't do anything anymore but looking at the dead dog, Anna burst into tears and she tried to struggle away when Daryl reached for her.

But he was too strong and he lifted her up in his arms and she kept crying against his shoulder.

…

She didn't remember the walk home but she knew that Daryl carried her back the whole time. When they got back to their home, Anna heard the voices around them – everyone worried when they saw her and wanting to know what happened – and Daryl told them but Anna's eyes were closed and she was almost asleep and she didn't want to look at any of them. And then he carried her into her bedroom and laid her on her bed and someone – probably Beth and Rosita – began taking her layers off until she was just in her long underwear and thermal and she was fast asleep by the time they covered her with her quilts.

She slept. She slept the rest of the day – right through dinner – and when her eyes opened, it was dark again but that didn't tell her how late it was. The sun set and it got so dark so early during the winter days. Her stomach grumbled and she had to go the bathroom but she didn't want to get out of bed. She didn't want to see anyone. Just thinking about that afternoon and the bolt sailing into the dog's head, she felt a fresh round of tears and she began crying again.

But a moment later, the room's door creaked open and even with her eyes closed, she knew it was Beth.

"Oh, sweetie," Beth said softly as she saw Anna and she came to the bed, sitting down on the edge of it next to her. She lit the candle on the table next to them. "I have warm milk for you. And there's soup and bread waiting for you by the fire."

Anna just shook her head. "He killed him," she then whispered.

"Anna," Beth said her name so gently and she began stroking her blond curly hair back from her face. "It's been a hard winter so far for everyone. The dog was starving and he was wild. He was going to hurt you." Anna began to shake her head in protest but Beth continued. "Yes, he would have and Daryl shot that dog to keep you safe. You know he'd do anything to keep you safe." Her hand slipped from her hair and she began rubbing her back.

Anna didn't say anything to that because she knew it was true. Daryl protected their family. That was what he did. And she was a part of this family and he had thought the dog was going to hurt her. Daryl would do anything to keep them safe.

"You need to eat something," Beth said and Anna nodded but still didn't get up. "You did so good today, Anna. You found so much stuff and I can't wait to see what we can make with it."

Anna felt herself smiling a little at that. _We_.

But then her smile faded and she sniffled again. "I really wanted a dog."

"I know exactly how you feel," Beth rubbed her back again and there was a sadness now in her voice but Anna knew better than to ask about it.

The rest of the family were in the family room, keeping themselves warm by the fire, bowls empty that they had eaten their chowder from. Rosita was on the couch, Aiden dozing on her chest, and Spencer was sitting on the floor, his back resting against the couch. Aaron was lying on his back, a paperback open in his hands and he was reading from it. Daryl was sitting on the floor next to the fireplace with his back against the wall, one knee raised, his arm resting on it, his other leg stretched in front of him and he was listening as Aaron read. They all were.

But Daryl looked up the instant Anna and Beth came into the room from the hallway. She was holding her cup of warm milk and without a word, she headed for Daryl. He straightened both legs out and she came to sit down on his lap. He reached over and picked up the piece of bread waiting for her on the hearth and handed it to her. She smiled and rested her back against his chest as she ate her bread and drank her milk and listened to Aaron, too.

"I had interrupted something; I could feel it. Mr. Gellis stared out into the drizzling rain, his body hunched with tension, his cigarette clutched between the second and third knuckles of his hand. I had not known he smoked. He certainly had not smoked at all during our long trip yesterday. It seemed I had not known anything. I looked at Mrs. Barry and thought of my stupid fantasies of the night before, and knew that in a world with such women, girls like me simply did not exist."

"Why are the rich ones always the most idiotic?" Rosita mused out loud.

"Hey," Spencer turned his head to her and frowned. "I noticed you the instant you got there."

But Rosita just rolled her eyes and shook her head with a smile.

"I don't know if we should be reading a ghost story with Anna," Beth then said from her spot on the floor near Daryl's feet, slowly chewing her own piece of bread. "It might get too scary."

"I'm not afraid," Anna couldn't help but frown a little.

"Nah," Daryl patted her knee. "You ain't."

…

* * *

 **Thank you very much for reading and please comment!  
**

 **The book the family is reading is "The Haunting of Maddy Clare" by Simone St. James.**


	3. Warmth

…

 **Part Three.** Warmth.

Winter was always hard. They foraged for winter plants in the woods, went on a few runs, patrolled their fences. But most of the time, there was the daylight that didn't last long and even when it did, it seemed to be so cold, most of the winter was spent, trying to keep warm and waiting for spring to come.

The neighborhood they had settled in was quiet; chosen at random because it was the one they stumbled upon and it seemed as good as any other neighborhood left in the world. Most of the living people left weren't looking to survive in places like this. They wanted prisons or factories. They didn't look at little houses like this and thought that anything good could come from them. But they had worked hard on this house – adding to their fences and building trenches the whole way around the property and they had all managed to carve an alright life for themselves here. And after the farm and the prison, neither Daryl or Beth were looking to have such a huge place again. It was harder to keep track of. This house may have been small – especially with so many people living there – but small was the perfect size.

They had dealt with a few herds in all the days they had been here. But the trenches were already filled with dead walkers and it helped mask their living scent and when herds came stumbling by, they stayed indoors and stayed as quiet as possible until the threat finally passed. A few stopped and banged into their fences but they were taken care of soon enough.

Daryl and Aaron had been out in the woods that surrounded the subdivision when they had seen the first walker. Daryl had raised his crossbow to take it out but Aaron had been the one to stop him because through the trees, he saw another. And another. And then ten others. Followed by more than they could count.

They had run – as quickly and quietly as they could – back to the house and had told the rest of their family. And with that, the rest of the day and night were spent inside, being as quiet as they possibly could be as the seemingly endless herd stumbled past their home.

Rosita took Aiden, the baby, downstairs to their bedroom in the basement, laying him down on the bed and curling her body around his. He had been a quiet baby since his birth almost two months ago and he was a quiet baby now but Rosita still was going to make sure that pacifier stayed in her son's mouth for the next few hours. And after filling two bowls with the thick corn chowder Beth had made for dinner, Spencer headed downstairs to be with them.

Anna and Aaron, with their own bowls of chowder, stayed in the family room, sitting on the floor in front of the fire, playing game after game of checkers, occasionally getting up to go and check on Lucky the goat and their chickens in the insulated garage. And Daryl, with two bowls of chowder of his own, after making sure for the sixth time that the house was locked up tight, went into his and Beth's bedroom off the kitchen and closed the door behind him with his foot.

In the winter, with the sun setting so early and there being so much darkness so much of the time, they went through nearly one candle every two days. But they scavenged for more every time they went on a run and built up their supply and they had all learned to make candles by burning down crayons if they had no other option.

Beth laid on their bed, on her stomach, her feet in the air and crossed at the ankle, and she was writing in her journal. Since they had come there, she had filled two and was now well into her third, filling the pages with how they spent their days and making notes on the different plant and wild life she had used.

They had recently come across what had been a small-town arboretum – the trees having grown wild within the glass dome – and to Beth, it was as if Christmas and her birthday had been all rolled into one and came early. Daryl knew she was filling her pages tonight with everything they had found and ideas of what she could do with all of it. She used bark and leaves for soups and medicines and when she found out that there were a couple of white willow trees growing, she had gasped as if she had never seen anything more amazing.

"White willow bark is like aspirin. We won't have to use just lavender now when we get headaches," she told him as she carefully began cutting some away. "And," she continued. "With all of the mosquitoes we get in the summer, white willow bark has been known to help with malaria fever."

He had frowned when she said that. "Didn' think we had to worry 'bout malaria on top of everythin' else."

She shrugged and began putting the strips of bark in her bag across her chest. "With the way everything in the world is now, we should be prepared for anything."

And, as if he ever needed more reminders, that was why Daryl found Beth to be the most amazing person left in this world. Because, yeah. He was strong and brave and had killed too many walkers to count now and could hunt animals and get them meat to eat. But while he would have looked around them and saw nothing but trees, Beth looked around them and saw ways for them to live. Not just survive.

His mind wandered back to that winter after the farm and they had been running around in circles, trying to find a safe place for them all. If they had known everything then that they knew now, he couldn't imagine that winter being as hard for them as it had been.

Beth turned and looked over her shoulder when she heard him come into the room and she smiled. She was already dressed for bed – which in the winter was flannel pajama pants, an over-sized sweatshirt and thick knit socks on her feet. Daryl came and set the bowl of chowder down on the table next to her side of the bed and he kissed the side of her head as she went back to finishing writing her thoughts.

She also filled the pages diligently every night with everything she had learned over the past couple of years because one day, she would be gone and Anna and Aiden would be left to this world and she wanted to make sure they knew everything that would keep them alive.

Daryl set his bowl down on the dresser and got himself ready for bed, too. With the herd passing, there would be no one on guard tonight. Sometimes, a passing herd could last for hours – especially in the cold months where they moved so much slower and sometimes, they stopped moving altogether and they would have to create a large noise to get the walkers moving again away from their house. And Daryl could hear them outside now, passing from the trees, through the cul-de-sac in front and into the trees on the other side., shuffling and snarling as they moved.

Like Beth, Daryl wore flannel pajama pants to bed in the cold months and he tugged on a long-sleeve tee-shirt. He left his feet bare. He couldn't sleep with socks on his feet. Never could. And then taking his own bowl of corn chowder, he went to his side of the bed and got himself settled in next to her.

"How is it?" Beth asked as soon as he took his first spoonful.

He gave a nod and took the time to swallow before answering. "The best as always," he said.

One of the main crops they grew was corn and after eating cobs of it through the summer, they always had plenty left over for harvesting in the fall and they spent the next few months eating corn cakes and corn chowder and corn bread and corn pudding and by the time spring came around, they were all pretty much sick of corn but they never complained because who the hell complained about eating too much of something nowadays?

Beth smiled at him and after finishing writing her final thought, she capped her pen and closed the journal and pushed herself to sit up on her knees. She set the journal carefully on the table and then took her bowl of chowder and turned, settling herself beside Daryl.

They ate quietly for a few minutes and when she had eaten her full, she poured the rest of the chowder from her bowl into Daryl's and then set hers down on the bedside table once more before lying down with a contented sigh, her hands resting lightly on her full stomach. Daryl continued eating the rest of the chowder, scraping the last bit from the bottom of the bowl, and he watched her as she looked up at the ceiling, obviously deep in thought over something.

Daryl finished his dinner and put his bowl on the bedside table next to his side of the bed and then slipped down so he was lying next to her. Beth smiled faintly and turned on her side towards him, her arm sliding across his middle and her head finding his shoulder. Daryl lifted his arm so he could wrap it around her shoulders and he held her close to him. They both heard Anna softly giggle from the family room before falling quiet once again and if it weren't for the countless walkers stumbling past their house outside – and if dead people weren't walking around in general – it would seem like a normal night in any normal household.

It almost made Daryl smile a little to himself.

He heard a soft sigh escape past Beth's lips and she nestled herself closer to him as if she was hoping the closer she was to him, whatever thoughts that were in her head would be chased away.

Daryl wondered what was on her mind but before he could ask, Beth spoke.

"I was thinking of Maggie earlier," she said softly. "I don't even know why. Rosita had needed to change her shirt and I was watching Aiden and I was changing his diaper and… I don't know why but she just popped into my mind. Do you think… do you think she and Glenn were able to find a place safe enough to have a baby of their own?"

The question hung in the air for a few seconds because Daryl didn't know how to answer. He knew how he _should_ answer. Whether it was the truth or not, he knew what Beth wanted to hear; even if she knew that he was just telling her what she wanted to hear.

"Course they did," he answered gruffly.

Beth was quiet after that, losing herself to her thoughts once again, and now, Daryl found himself having his own thoughts of their family. Their first family; not the family they had now. Of Rick and Carl, Lil' Asskicker, Michonne, Glenn and Carol… of all of them. He wondered where they were and who was still alive and if they ever thought of him and Beth sometimes like this.

When he and Beth first made the decision to stay here, Daryl had refused to allow himself to dwell on anyone other than Beth and keeping her safe. They had been walking for fifty-four days. The prison was gone, their family scattered, and Daryl and Beth hadn't stopped looking for them. But then Beth had gotten sick and they had to stop and Daryl had tried to get her better. And then… two men had come into their house and with Beth, had tried to…

They were exhausted and they had found a house with fences and water nearby and even a few vegetable plants and the decision had been made by the both of them. It was also decided between them – though they never spoke of it out loud – that they would do their best to forget the family that they had tried so hard to find.

But sometimes, they couldn't seem to help themselves.

Sometimes, Daryl thought of them and wished they could find them again just so they could see how he and Beth had changed; how kick-ass Beth had become. All of them, including him, were guilty of underestimating her. He wondered what their reaction would be if they saw his and Beth's home here and everything they had been able to do and build. He wondered what they would think when they saw the wedding ring on Beth's finger.

"Daryl," Beth whispered his name then and she stretched her neck up so she could brush her lips along the line of his jaw.

Daryl's eyes almost instantly slid closed and he knew he should have felt cold because besides the walkers outside, he could hear the near zero gusts of wind blowing but Beth was kissing him, her lips working down to his throat, and right now, all he could think was of stripping Beth naked and making both of them feel as if they are on fire.

He pushed his body towards hers and rolled her over onto her back, putting himself above her. Beth's lips left his neck and Daryl pressed his mouth to hers, kissing her hard and deep, his tongue sweeping in past her lips and meeting hers. Beth moaned softly into his mouth and her fingers dived into his hair, holding the longer strands off his face. He pressed himself down against her, letting her feel the growing erection through his pajama pants, and Beth let out another moan, her thighs spreading wider and her back arching off the bed.

Daryl kept his mouth on hers, kissing her until his lungs were burning and he knew that hers probably were, too, but he still didn't stop. He lifted his lips just for a second for them to both take in a quick gulp of air before they were kissing again. His hand slowly drifted down the side of her body, pausing and his fingers curling around her hip. He ground against her again and Beth whimpered this time, her hands leaving his hair to slide down his body to the waistband of his pajama pants. And following her lead, his hands went to the waistband of hers.

He sat up on his knees and stripped her naked, pulling her pants and sweatshirt off and after pulling off each of her socks, he kissed the soles of her feet and she smiled shyly and blushed. Daryl tugged the tee-shirt off over his head but then he paused, looking down at her.

"Are we good?" He then asked and didn't need to further explain because she knew.

Beth nodded with a smile. "I have some in the bathroom I can take right after," she told him and that was enough for him to fall back down on top of her.

She giggled at his eagerness as he began pressing kisses to her neck and shoulders, murmuring to her against her skin that she was so fucking beautiful. Beth closed her eyes and slid her hands through his hair before over his shoulders and down his back, back to the waistband of his pajamas, trying her best to push them down past his ass.

"Daryl," she whimpered his name as his mouth moved lower and his lips enclosed around one of her nipples. Her back arched from the bed and her fingers gripped his hair once more.

She tried to be quiet. Not only because of the herd of walkers outside but because of the others in the house. It was no secret that she and Daryl had a sexual relationship. They were married, after all. But that didn't mean that she wanted them all to know about their sex life.

"Get in me," she practically groaned as if in pain and Daryl loved to tease her, he admitted, but teasing her means teasing him and he wanted it just as much.

He hissed as her fingers raked down his chest, nails catching the skin, and he pushed his pajama pants completely off. He slanted his mouth over hers, kissing her hard and deep at the same time he thrust inside of her, giving her his entire length. Her back bowed and she moaned softly and she really hadn't been expecting this when he came in with bowls of their chowder, but oh god, this was good. So good. It always was with him.

She moaned with each penetration, with each sensation of his cock pushing into her body and then sliding out and pushing back in. Over and over again, in and out, in and out, his body rocking on top of hers, his hips pressing to hers, his lips latched to the side of her throat now, letting her moan out softly again. He loved hearing her.

He knew exactly what she loved, what made her moan, what made her nails dig into his skin. He thrust in quickly but then, pulling his hips back, he moved so slowly, allowing her to feel every single inch as it moved through her tight channel, her inner walls squeezing him. It made her produce this low moan every single time and she lifted her hips to meet his and her head from the pillow. Her hands cupped his cheeks and she pulled his head down so she could kiss him. Daryl sank on top of her, his tongue tangling with hers, one hand tangling back in her hair while the other pressed flat against the headboard of the bed behind her.

He drew back slowly and then rammed back into her, her body bouncing, her mouth breaking away with a sharp gasp.

"Just like that, just like that," she began babbling, struggling to keep her eyes open, wanting to watch him move above her but it was too good and too much and she tried to remember her life before she shared a bed with Daryl Dixon.

Daryl's mouth went back to her left breast, tongue swirling, teeth scraping gently and she moaned, her hands flying up to grip his hair again, holding onto him.

"Come on, baby," he grunted, thrusting harder, faster, and she was panting and moaning and her hands dropped down, one of them slipping between their bodies. "Come on, Beth," he groaned and he looked down to watch as her fingers find her clit.

She began touching herself and he watched, hypnotized, loving when she touched herself like this. It drove him crazy and he thrust as hard as he could, knowing that she could take it. The muscles in his neck strained and every muscle in her body froze and it had only happened a few other times before but this time, they came together. She bit into his shoulder to smother her cry and he groaned as her body trembled and he poured into her, Beth moaning and her body arching at the sensation.

He nearly collapsed on top of her but he didn't want to crush her. He fell onto his stomach next to her, his arm landing across her stomach, and they both laid there, panting and sweating, their skin sticking together, and still shaking and Beth turned just enough to press kisses to his shoulder and cheek.

"Good?" He asked and the question made her laugh softly.

"Good," she smiled and he smiled, too.

She kissed his shoulder one more time before she slowly and almost reluctantly pulled herself from the bed and went into their attached bathroom to drink down some of the Queen Anne's Lace seeds she stored in there. When she came back into the room, Daryl had passed out, his breathing deep and even as he slept, his bare ass in the air. She smiled to herself, almost laughing, and she came to the bed, gathering the quilts that were folded at the foot of the bed. Slipping back in next to him, she pulled the quilts up so both of their naked bodies were covered and before laying down, she turned and blew the candle out. She had no idea what time it really was – time didn't mean nearly as much as it used to – but it was near pitch black outside and she could still hear the heard outside so there was nothing much to do.

Tomorrow, hopefully, the walkers would have moved on and they would go out and kill the walkers in the trenches that had fallen in and they would survey their surroundings, repairing the damage if there had been any made. And if not, they had more than enough food and firewood to get them through another day of staying inside if they had to. They had more than enough of everything to get them through the entire winter if they had to stay in the house because if they had learned one thing with the world ending, it was be prepared for anything.

Beth settled down next to him, laying close to him and even though she was naked beneath the quilts, Daryl's body was giving off more than enough heat. And in his sleep, he sensed she was back next to him and he moved closer, his arm finding its place across her stomach again and he held her close to him. Beth snuggled against him and with a faint smile across her lips, she felt herself joining him, drifting off to sleep to the quiet snarls of walkers outside and Anna giggling again from the family room as she and Aaron began yet another game of checkers.

…

* * *

 **Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to review.**


	4. Run

**As requested.**

 **I know everyone wanted an update on _If I Loved You_ or _Band-Aids and Coconut Cake_ but the muse grabbed hold of me for this one and wouldn't let go. I've been working on it for a couple of days now and I hope you like it. Thank you!**

* * *

...

 **Chapter Four.** Run.

Usually, the way they had done it in the past, on the days that they decided would be run days, they would put all of their names into the basket and four names would get pulled out at random. Four would go and two would stay behind, keeping watch of their house. But ever since Aiden was born, Spencer and Rosita were more hesitant to go though they would if their names were pulled and wouldn't argue because this was the way they did things and the basket was the fairest way to do anything. It was Daryl, without discussing it without the others, who began leaving their names from the basket. So it became that on run day, it was always Daryl, Beth, Anna and Aaron.

But today, they were all recovering from colds they had caught from something the week before and Spencer – always boasting that he had an incredible immune system – had barricaded himself down in the basement with Aiden so the baby wouldn't get sick, too, as Aaron, Anna and Rosita coughed and blew their noses upstairs. Daryl and Beth had gotten the same cold, too, but they were the first to recover. Beth had been giving them all garlic and lemon juice and then cold teas of pine needles that helped combat the mucus and coughing, and when run day came, Daryl told them all that he and Beth would be the only ones to go. And no one had argued with that decision.

They took the Buick rather than the truck because while the truck had a bit more room, the Buick had better gas mileage, and Daryl knew that they might have to go out for a while. They had already cleaned out the surrounding areas around them and would have to start going out further to find anything of use; until that ran out, too, and there was nothing else in this world to find.

Rosita had been the one to decide that Anna's education had to continue past gardening and defending herself and history had always been Beth's best and favorite subject in school so she volunteered to teach that besides the medicine and plant life lessons. Spencer said he would cover math and Aaron volunteered science. Rosita would teach English and Daryl had always hated school and hadn't even graduated high school but Rosita said that he could teach Anna about cars and fixing them and tracking and hunting and they all knew that those were the lessons Anna enjoyed the most. For her history lessons, Beth was starting with the Pilgrims and how when they came here, there was nothing and had to learn and be taught how to make everything from that nothing. And Daryl figured she was teaching Anna that lesson for him, too, because one of these days, they would have to do that as well.

Spencer, Rosita, and Aaron – and Eric when he had been alive – had first come upon Daryl and Beth from the north; a direction that the three never wanted to go in again for some reasons they never talked about and Daryl and Beth never pried, but they remembered what they passed. Aaron told Daryl of a town just an hour north of here. They had never stopped to investigate it but it seemed to be a good-sized town Daryl and Beth hadn't gone to yet and Daryl decided that for this run day, it was as good a destination as any.

So after checking the tires and the gas tank – Daryl figured that once gasoline expired, there would be no more runs and they really would be like the Pilgrims then – Beth gathered all of the lists together that everyone made of things that were needed – and some items which were considered luxuries – and made sure they had food and an emergency first-aid kit because absolutely anything could happen while out there.

They said goodbye to the family and Aaron went outside with them, going to the gate at the end of the driveway, opening it up for them, holding his hand up in a wave as Daryl drove out of the garage and eased into their cul-de-sac, watching in the rearview mirror as Aaron, once they were driving away, closed and locked the gate behind them once again.

"A road trip," Beth smiled in the passenger seat beside him, scooping her hair up into a ponytail. And once it was off her neck and face, she reached and pulled the backpack at her feet up into her lap. "Now, everyone gave me their lists and I was going over them so we need to be on the lookout for a few things. Everyone is requesting some new underwear and socks and I agree. They're all getting a little ratty and we can only mend so much. Also, the usual. More blankets. Candles. Aaron wants some Michael Crichton books if we can find them. More tea and hot chocolate and ground coffee if we can find any and Spencer is requesting a toothbrush still in the packaging."

"Spoiled brat," Daryl muttered and Beth smiled, nearly laughing. "What do you want?" He asked, glancing over at her for only a moment before back to the road.

Beth pulled out her own list. "Seeds, of course, vegetable oil, soy sauce-"

"Like Chinese restaurant soy sauce?" Daryl interrupted.

"Yep. I can use it in a lot of my cooking," Beth said. "More yeast. I still have plenty but I want to stock up so if we can find a church... More salt and spices. Tuna. Rice. Though I doubt we'll ever find those again. Maybe pasta noodles. More nails. Do you think we'll be able to find a male goat? For Lucky?"

"Wan' Lucky to get lucky?" Daryl smirked.

"Pretty much," Beth couldn't help but giggle a little. "She won't be producing milk forever. Biology and all of that. We need to get Lucky a beau."

Daryl kept smirking. "Got lucky with Lucky and our chickens. Real lucky. But we'll keep on the lookout for one."

"And what about you?" Beth turned in her seat more towards him. "What do you want?"

He shrugged as he always did when asked that. Daryl hadn't needed much before the world ended and he supposed he needed even less now. Just his crossbow and bolts and clean water nearby and maybe a blanket. Anything more than that was a luxury to him.

"Soap, I guess," he shrugged, because they really had enough of the things he would normally want. They had knives, rope, a fence… They were near fresh water and the woods were good to them and they had a roof over their heads. "And if you need nails, we'll keep takin' the houses 'part like I've been doin'. Get 'em from there."

Beth nodded. "I just like to have some on hand, just in case. You never know when you might need a good nail."

Daryl looked at her from the corner of his eye and the corner of his mouth began pulling up in a smirk. And after a moment, Beth's cheeks turned noticeable pinker.

"Shut up," she said, giving him a frown she didn't mean and he broke into a rare grin.

They had been driving for nearly thirty minutes now and on either side of the road, woods followed them. But up ahead, Daryl could see a break in the trees and he began to ease his foot off the gas pedal. Beth leaned forward in her seat to look at what they were approaching, both seeing the dirt road at the same time. He paused idly in front of it, looking at it quietly. Beth then turned his head to look at him and Daryl looked at her, waiting to see what she wanted to do. She gave a slight nod and nodding in return, Daryl turned the wheel and headed up the drive.

"Hmmm," Beth commented quietly as Daryl drove them closer to the worn down house and they both got their first look at it.

It looked like it had been falling down before the world ended.

But after a moment, they saw all of the bodies on the ground. There had to be at least a dozen, half- decomposed and spread out across the dead grass as if some sort of battle had happened here. And there were several holes in the front door from what looked to be like a shotgun. Someone had been protecting his home from inside. But what could possibly be inside that would need protecting and how did these people know about it?

Daryl shifted the car into park and then turned the ignition off, pulling the key out and handing it to Beth, who instantly slid it into the front pocket of the blue jeans she wore. He then grabbed his crossbow from where he kept it on the floor next to her leg, and when he pushed his door open, Beth pushed hers open as well. Outside of the car, it was quiet except for a few birds chirping nearby and a soft, brisk early Spring breeze blowing. Beth stood still as Daryl took in everything around them. He had trained her to do the same but even with practice and training, his eyes and ears and instincts were just better than hers and always would be so when they came to someplace new, Beth relied on him to do a surveillance of it.

He then took slow steps towards the front porch of the house and Beth followed after him, her own hunting knife drawn and clasped in her fist. The stairs creaked as Daryl came to the door, his crossbow drawn up and aimed. He stepped aside for Beth, who slowly dropped down to her knees, peering through the holes in the front door left from the shotgun. On the floor in the hallway, there was a man, nearly as decomposed as the bodies out on his front yard, a heavy grandfather's clock crushed over his head and a shotgun lying at his side. She did her best not to wince when she saw it.

"What you got?" Daryl asked in a low voice.

Beth lifted her knife and knocked on the door heavily with the hilt. They both waited a passing minute, both nearly holding their breath, and then she got back to her feet. She looked over her shoulder to Daryl, who nodded and kept his crossbow aimed and ready, and she tried the knob on the door. It didn't turn. Judging by the door, they could probably knock it down, but they didn't want to make more noise than they had to. It seemed quiet, but there could be a hundred walkers nearby for all they knew.

Dropping back to her knees, Beth thrust her arm through one of the holes. She pressed herself against the door and stretched her arm as far as she could until she felt the deadbolt. Her fingers fumbled, taking a moment to get a good grasp on it and then, with a relieved sigh, she was able to turn it over. She instantly pulled her arm from the hole and tried the knob again. This time, the door opened with a quiet click. She looked up at Daryl with a smile and got to her feet.

"Seems like a lot of trouble jus' to get into a house like this," Daryl said as they slowly stepped over the threshold into the front hallway.

He saw the shotgun and he immediately went to it. There was a dusty envelope on the table next to the door and Beth looked down to the address. Still in Georgia. She wondered how close they were to the border. Not that she was looking to leave Georgia.

"I wonder what happened here," Beth said, looking away from the envelope to look at the dusty house in derelict.

Most times, the story of what happened in a particular house was fairly obvious but in this one, Beth couldn't understand why people would be trying to get inside and what had made a grandfather's clock fall onto the man. Maybe someone had gotten in and had pushed the clock and whatever people had been after was already long gone. Still, she and Daryl would check the rooms. There might be at least one useful thing around here.

"'s empty," Daryl said once he had opened the barrel of the shotgun. "Maybe he's got more shells 'round here."

And that was another thing. If someone had come in and threw a clock down on this man, why wouldn't they take his gun? Unless this person was like them and didn't use guns often. They had their knives and Daryl had his crossbow and they had a couple of guns but those were kept in the garage, rarely ever used. Bullets were too scarce and guns made too much noise. They never used the guns on walkers or when Daryl went hunting. The only reason they had guns was for if another person – or people – ever found their home and they had to keep it safe.

"You're frownin'," Daryl said, breaking through her thoughts.

And Beth shook her head as if to free herself from them. "I just don't get what happened here," she said, looking at the body beneath the clock.

Daryl shrugged and went to prop the gun up next to the door so they could grab it on their way out to the car again. "Sometimes, things don't gotta make sense, Beth. You know that." Beth could do nothing, but nod to the truth of that. "Come on. Still got to get to that town to check out and I don't wanna be 'round here too long."

He gave her hip a gentle squeeze with a heavy hand as he passed her and with his crossbow raised, he went into the living room, Beth following after. They had been together for so long now – Beth had actually stopped keeping count, not seeing a reason behind doing it anymore – they could move through a house they were scavenging through as one. Talking wasn't necessary. They knew what the other was going to do long before the movement was made and they were able to clear through the first and second floors easily and quickly.

There wasn't much. A few sweaters hanging in one of the closets that moths had eaten. A couple of rusted pans in the kitchen that they didn't need. Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust like most things were these days.

"Want to check the basement?" Daryl asked.

"Yes," Beth answered without hesitating.

Nothing could be overlooked or assumed anymore. The rest of the house hadn't had anything and it would be easy to think that the basement would be the same – and it probably was as empty – but until they saw it with their own eyes, Beth was going to think otherwise because nowadays, no matter how long it had been since the world ended, it still amazed her how people didn't investigate every single nook and cranny in a house. When they had first come upon their subdivision, and had settled in a house chosen nearly completely at random, Daryl had investigated the basement and found a plastic container that had been shoved into a crawlspace that had had food and aspirin. People who had raided the house before them had just assumed there was nothing in there so they hadn't even looked. It never ceased to boggle Beth's mind.

And then she would think of Rick and how he was always looking for the obvious. Medicine of the old world. Food of the old world, too. Even with his thinking guns were the most important thing, never thinking about the bullets that weren't infinite and would run out eventually. He had never looked at flowers and plants and thought that anything could be done with them. She wondered what he would think if he saw the way she and Daryl and the others were able to live.

Beth had brought a solar flashlight with them and at the top of the stairs leading into the dark basement, she turned it on and shone it downwards. She didn't ask Daryl if he wanted to go first. They had made noise since coming in. If there was a walker down there, it would have made itself known by now. But that didn't mean she didn't walk down the stairs slowly and cautiously.

As expected, there wasn't anything in the basement except dust and spiders. There was weak sun pushing in through the dirty windows that showed just how much of nothing there was down here. But Beth didn't feel disappointed. She had been expecting this. It didn't make sense as to what the people outside had been after or why the man upstairs had been crushed with a clock. Maybe whoever had done that had already cleared this house out of whatever it was that all of those people were after.

Well, that was that. She began heading back towards the stairs but stopped when she realized that Daryl wasn't walking behind her. She had stepped up onto the bottom step and then turned, seeing him standing in the middle of the basement, looking at one of the walls and then looking up to the ceiling with a frown on his face.

"What is it?" Beth asked, watching him.

Daryl didn't answer right away and then he turned, looking back to her. "Don't it look like this basement is too small for this house?" He asked.

Beth frowned, stepping down from the bottom step. "What do you mean?" She asked. "It could just be not a full basement."

Daryl just shook his head. "Nah. Don't feel like that's it. Bring the flashlight."

Beth went without question and he took it from her, shining to where the wall and ceiling met, and slowly, he ran the beam of light along the length. He then walked to the wall, running his hand along the cement wall, before trailing the light down to where the bottom of the wall met the floor.

"Feel how smooth this wall is," Daryl said and Beth instantly stepped forward to put her hand on the wall as he instructed. He was right. It was smooth. Perfectly smoothed as if someone had taken quite a long time on this particular basement wall because the others were made of cinder block and certainly didn't look like they would feel this way. "Here," he said and handed her back the flashlight.

She took a step back when he knelt down and took the bag off that he carried on his back. He then took out a water bottle and tipping it, he poured out a small amount. Beth shone the light on it, and watched it, fascinated, wondering what it would do because there was a reason that Daryl was doing this and she wanted to see what it was.

The water didn't stay, pooling in one spot. Instead, it began moving. Into the wall. She nearly gasped when she watched and Daryl got back to his feet, putting the pack onto his back once again and then swung his crossbow onto his shoulder as well.

"I figured," he murmured, both of them still watching the water, Beth still shining it with the light. And he then began pushing on the wall to where the water was slipping beneath.

"How did you figure?" Beth asked, watching him curiously, her stomach beginning to flutter because _something_ was on the other side of this wall and it could be anything.

Daryl shrugged. "Just seemed like a really small basement for the size of the house upstairs."

Beth smiled as she watched him. "You are so smart, Daryl Dixon."

And she didn't have to have him in complete light to know that his ears were red right now. And she pursed her lips together to keep herself from giggling and embarrassing him more. Instead, she just held the light steady and followed him as he continued pressing his hands against the wall, running them along the smooth surface, his hand catching on something near the end of the wall, near one of the windows on the next wall. Beth held her breath as she then saw the tiniest handle and Daryl tugged on it. A door was pulled open and Beth gasped again.

"How did no one find that?" She asked.

He shrugged, taking a step back and raising his crossbow into his arms again. "We almost didn't find it," he pointed out to her. "Open it slow," he then said, positioning himself, his crossbow raised and aimed, and Beth nodded, her knife clutched in one hand and the flashlight held in the other.

Again, they had been making enough noise and if a walker was inside this room, it would have made itself known by now. But still, they moved cautiously and Beth slowly pulled the door open the rest of the way, nearly coughing at how stale the air in the closed up room was, being finally released after all of this time.

No walkers. And Beth stepped into the doorway, running her flashlight along the darkness of the windowless storage room and when she saw what was inside, she nearly fell to her knees. Daryl was directly behind her, looking over the top of her head, following the beam of light as she swept it over everything that was on the shelves.

"Now we know what the neighbors wanted," Daryl grunted. "Wha' is this?" He then asked, his eyes going to Beth as she began breathing harder and faster. He put a hand on her shoulder, about to ask if she was alright, but before he could, Beth answered him.

"Extreme couponing," she breathed and then, unable to help herself, she did fall to her knees then and her head began to spin.

…

By the time they filled the Buick to the brim with as much as they could take, Daryl closed the room up again – still even more that they could come back and take – and they began the drive home, the sun beginning to lower itself in the western sky.

When they drove into the St. George subdivision and then headed up their cul-de-sac, Spencer was outside, Aiden in one arm, and he went down the driveway to unlock the gate for them. The Buick slowly pulled up and into the garage and Spencer, once closing and locking the gate once more, followed after them.

"What happened to him?" Beth asked, getting out from the passenger seat, looking to the baby in his dad's arm, naked from the waist down.

"Crapped all over himself and I just got back from hosing him off in the creek," Spencer answered but his eyes were focused on the backseat of the car, absolutely stuffed to the windows and the ceiling with things. He then looked to Daryl as Daryl got out from the driver's side. "What the hell?" He asked.

"The others feelin' better?" Daryl asked instead.

"Feeling a lot better," Spencer nodded. "What the hell?" He then asked again.

"Got to get the others to help unload," was all Daryl would say and then headed up the steps that led from the garage into the house, rubbing a hand over Aiden's head as he passed by.

Spencer then looked to Beth, his face one of completely perplexity, the same question on the tip of his tongue.

Beth smiled and took Aiden from his arms. "I'll get a diaper on him. You can start unloading. Just put everything in the kitchen and hallway for now. We'll figure out where to put everything once we figure out everything we have."

She then turned and left the garage, bouncing Aiden in her arms and smiling as the baby beamed at her, and Spencer was left alone in the garage, staring back at the Buick.

"What the hell?" He asked again to no one this time except their chickens and Lucky the goat, but they didn't answer him either.

Beth had a spiral notebook that she kept track of their inventory and worked out rationing in and once everything from the car was unloaded in tall stacks in the kitchen and hallway, Beth took the notebook and one of her pens and as she looked at the seemingly endless canned goods, boxes of cereal and packages of toilet paper, she felt tears stinging her eyes. She sniffled as she began counting the boxes of pasta noodles and did her best to keep her mind on the task at hand. Warm, strong and familiar arms wrapped around her from behind and she instantly sank against the firm, hard chest and exhaling a shaky breath, she closed her eyes.

"I keep expecting to wake up at any second and we'll be getting ready to go out on our run again," she said to him quietly and Daryl responded by dropping his head and turning his face, pressing it into the side of her neck. "I think we'll have chicken noodle soup for dinner tonight to help with the colds and chocolate pudding for dessert," she then said and she felt Daryl's lips turn upwards into a smile against her skin as if he had never heard anything more amusing and amazing than that. Beth had to agree.

…

* * *

 **Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to leave a review.**


	5. Dizzy

**Still on vacation, but I wrote this chapter over the past few days after coming back to the hotel each evening. I know most are going to think they know what is going on with Beth, but I'm going to be writing something a little different with her. This chapter will continue into the next with Daryl's POV. And a mention of the original family will finally happen as well.**

* * *

...

 **Chapter Five.** Dizzy.

Beth was not entirely sure what was wrong. She didn't tell anyone – not even Daryl – but for the past few days, she'd just been so tired and terribly dizzy and she felt as if she just wanted to lie down in bed and sleep for a few days. But, of course, that wasn't even remotely possible. There was too much to do; always too much to do.

So, Beth did what Beth always did and looked over her book. Over the past couple of years, she had continued keeping her journal but she began keeping a second as well – filled with recipes and the surrounding plants and flowers and what they could be used for. It was her reference guide and she recorded everything they did diligently. But even as she closely went through the pages, she knew she wouldn't find any notes on dizziness. No one had really had dizzy symptoms that she would have to treat. So, she went to her other book. The precious book that had taught her everything she knew now. She and Daryl had found it one of their first weeks here, all of those days ago, and if they ever had to run from here, this was the one thing Beth made sure she would grab.

Dizziness. She found it in the index and turned to the appropriate page near the back where the other helpful home made medicinal remedies were. Ginger. Of course. Ginger seemed to be used for so much, and while they had a supply of it, Beth didn't want to use it for this. They had to conserve their ginger for far more important things then the room slowly spinning around her. There was a mixture listed of mustard, salt, vinegar and pepper added to a glass of water. That seemed simple enough. She would have to find vinegar but she doubted that would be hard to find. It was probably in one of the houses around them. Who on earth would take vinegar when scavenging?

"Hey."

She was lying on the bed in hers and Daryl's bedroom and she lifted her eyes from the book to see that Daryl was standing in the doorway.

"Hi." She smiled the instant she saw him. "I didn't hear you get back."

"Jus' did," he said, his eyes on her as he took a step into the room, stopping at the foot of the bed. "You a'right?" He then asked.

She nodded slightly, sitting up and closing the book. "Of course. Just reading up on some things," she said.

She brought her legs around the side of the bed and waited a second before she stood up, giving her head a chance to right the room around her. And when it did stop spinning, she looked to Daryl once more. It was no surprise to her that he was already watching her; watching her closely. She knew what he was doing. He was always doing it. He always looked at her as if studying her and memorizing her; as if he hadn't done that already. He knew every square inch of her body and no one knew her better than Daryl did.

Sometimes, the barest of thoughts would cross her mind, and she wondered what it would be like if they ever ran into their old family – their first family – again. So much time had passed now since the prison and she wondered what they would think when they saw her and Daryl. So much had changed. _She_ had changed. And Daryl, too. They were married. They were a team. They could have entire conversations with just their eyes. She wondered what the others would think of that. What would Rick think? What would Maggie say? Would they accept the people they had become and the relationship that had been built between them? Of course, it wouldn't matter if they accepted it or not. She and Daryl were married – were in love – and not even slightly bossy and overbearing older sisters could tell them otherwise.

Beth didn't know why she thought about things like that. It wasn't as if it was ever going to happen. She knew they were all still alive. She could _feel_ it; just as she would have felt it if they were dead. They were out there. Somewhere. Long from Georgia, she knew, but where, she couldn't even guess.

But, it was okay. It was something she had gotten used to. It was alright. She had Daryl and this house that had become their home and they had a new family now. One she loved just as much as their previous one.

"I know you just got back from a run," Beth said. "But I actually just read something that I need that I don't have. I'm pretty sure any of the houses around here will have it though," she was quick to add. "I was just going to go on my own."

"I'll go with you," Daryl was quick to say just as she knew that he would. "Wha' is it?"

"Vinegar," she answered, moving past him towards the door, and Daryl didn't ask why she needed it. Daryl had learned that if Beth was asking for it, there was a good reason for it. He had learned that there was probably a hundred things she could do with vinegar.

"Hey," he said in his quiet, gentle "hunter" tone, and his fingers gently took hold of her arm, stopping her from walking from the room. "Everything a'righ?" he asked again and he was still watching her closely.

Beth managed a smile and she nodded her head just enough so the room didn't spin again. She stood on her toes and kissed him on the cheek and when she moved to leave the bedroom this time, Daryl followed after her into the kitchen.

The run had been a small one. Things were just getting harder to find out there now – things either having been taken by the remaining people in the world or nature taking things back for their own. This run had been for Rosita and Daryl and Aaron had been able to find a fabrics store and successfully been able to get a good amount of fabric. They had an old-fashioned sewing machine from the antiques store and plenty of thread and Rosita knew how to sew and she was going to start sewing some of their clothes from now on. They had even found her denim and she'd be able to sew them jeans – or she would attempt to, as she told them all.

"Look!" Rosita beamed when Beth came into the kitchen. She was at the table where the bolts of fabric had all been stacked and when Beth neared the table, she showed her a white fabric with a cherry pattern. "I am going to make you such an adorable gardening apron," she told her and Beth laughed at that.

"We're goin' out again," Daryl then told them.

Spencer was sitting at the table, looking through the fabric patterns, and he lifted his eyes at that. Aaron was at the counter, eating one of the peaches that they had picked from the nearby tree in one of the neighborhood yards yesterday, and he stopped in mid-chew. Anna and Aiden, who had just learned how to sit up, were in the family room, sitting on the floor together and even Anna stopped in mid-play at Daryl's words.

"But you just got back," Anna was the one to say.

"We won't be gone long. Just to the houses around here," Beth answered all of them.

"What are you looking for?" Aaron asked, his peach still in his hand, forgotten now.

"Vinegar," Beth said.

"Why?" Spencer asked and there was the question that Beth didn't know how to answer.

She hated lying. Always had and had never seen a point to it; especially now. But she couldn't tell them about her dizziness and why she really needed the vinegar. They would all start freaking out – especially Daryl – and Beth did not need that nor did she want it. She took care of them when one of them felt less than well, and she'd be able to do that for herself. She just needed vinegar. They already had bottles of mustard and containers of salt and pepper as well as barrels of rain water. The mixture sounded completely disgusting, but she trusted her book. That book had gotten them through so much already and if the book told her that this would help with her dizziness, she had no reason not to trust that this disgusting-sounding mixture would be able to help her.

"It's supposed to help in killing weeds and there are so many weeds around the garden already," Beth answered and her voice and eyes were steady and there was no reason for any of them to suspect she was telling anything other than the truth. And besides, it technically was true. Vinegar did help with the weeds and they _did_ have weeds right now.

She didn't dare look to Daryl though. Even without her eyes in his direction, she could feel him looking at her and she feared that if she met his eyes for even a second, he would know that that wasn't exactly why she needed the vinegar. She'd have to be sure to make the mixture and drink it when he was outside and wouldn't be around to watch her. She loved Daryl and loved how loved he made her feel. But sometimes, his over-protectiveness drove her a bit crazy. She knew that he knew she was capable of taking care of herself. After all, she had made it just as far and just as long as him. But she knew that Daryl had had never had something of his own before to take care of and that was how he saw her. She was his wife and she was his to take care of.

But she didn't want to have to explain herself because she knew Daryl. He would find out she was dizzy and he would freak out – because that's what Daryl did. When it came to Beth, he freaked out and overreacted and she could go blue in the face, insisting to him that she was alright. He wouldn't care. He would make a much larger deal out of this then it needed to be, because Beth knew that once she drank the mixture, she'd be fine again.

Aaron volunteered to go with them, but Daryl told them that just he and Beth would go.

After loading themselves with knives and Beth swung a pack onto her back, just in case they found more things, they headed out through the garage. Daryl didn't say anything. He just held his crossbow and waited for Beth to make a decision. Beth looked at the houses around them that they had been through time and time again in the months they had been here. So many months and she had stopped counting so long ago. She tried to think of the inside of each house and which one would most likely have vinegar.

She gave Daryl a small smile and he was looking at her in that close way of his and when she began to walk to the houses to the right of them, to the house with the muted red door, Daryl fell into step beside her. But still, he said nothing even though it was pretty darn obvious to her that he wanted to. But that was the thing with them. While Beth liked to talk about everything and could get Daryl to talk with her in return, if Daryl was the one who wanted to talk – which was rare, but it did happen – he actually never talked. He would just stay quiet until Beth was ready to talk, too.

But she wasn't going to talk with him about this. No matter how quiet he stayed or how many times he looked at her. Daryl was her husband and her best friend and they had been through everything together, but she wasn't going to talk with him about this.

The house with the muted red door was the first house they had stayed in when they had first gotten here. They had been walking for so long after they lost the prison and she wasn't feeling well and they had stumbled out of the woods, squinting at the houses in front of them as if they had been in a cave for their entire lives and had just now seen the sun for the first time; as if they had somehow forgotten what houses actually were.

The house with the muted red door hadn't become their permanent home but it was a home that had still been good to them. They had found their first container of rice inside the kitchen wall and blankets in the basement crawlspace. And now, Beth went through the back door as they always did and headed into the kitchen, able to make the journey blindfolded if she had to. She opened up the cabinets that had long ago been emptied and she heard Daryl looking over the shelves of the pantry.

"Got it," he grunted and she spun to see that he was holding a plastic bottle of vinegar that he had taken from the top shelf. It was still unopened and she smiled.

"Thank you," she said, and took a step towards him, but she stopped herself suddenly because it was happening again. The world was spinning around her, turning on its axis, and she felt the floor shift beneath her feet.

What was going on with her? It was so frightening to her because she had absolutely no idea and she supposed, in this world, there was always a lingering sense of fear – no matter how safe a person might have felt – but right now, this unexplained dizziness, popping up like dandelions in the grass whenever they felt like it, absolutely _terrified_ her.

But, Beth was able to recover quickly and she was able to finish walking towards Daryl, taking the bottle of vinegar, avoiding his eyes, feeling them boring into her. And without another word to him, she turned – slowly – and headed out the back door once more. There were a couple of walkers rambling from the woods and as they stepped from the house's backyard, Daryl fired at one with his crossbow and Beth took care of the other with a knife to their skull.

"She looks pretty new," Beth then noted, sadness weighing her words before she could help herself, as she pulled her knife from the walker now on the ground.

"Yeah," Daryl agreed, loading his bow back with the bolt taken from the other walker.

"It's silly, but I just thought… how many more people can there be left in the world?" She asked, looking to her husband, finding that he, of course, was already looking at her.

"Come on," he said without answering her question; knowing that it was one of those questions that didn't really need answering. "Le's head back home."

Beth looked at him for another moment longer and Daryl looked at her in return. He didn't say anything and she knew that he was waiting for her to say something first. They didn't keep secrets from one another. That's not who they were. Even Daryl told her pretty much anything that was on his mind. It might take him a while but, eventually, Beth knew that he would tell her. Daryl Dixon was a man who could not be rushed.

And Daryl Dixon was also a man with seemingly endless patience and Beth knew that if he had to, he would wait for as long as it took for Beth to tell him what was going on because her husband was not a stupid man and he knew this vinegar was for something other than killing weeds.

"I love you," she said to him and for a moment, she wondered if he would actually be disappointed that that was what she said to him instead of something else.

But Daryl looked as he always looked when Beth said those words to him. His face softened and his body visibly relaxed and he swung the bow back up into his hands.

"Love you, too," he murmured to her in return and she smiled at him as she always did.

…

For dinner that evening, they had lavender and walnut bread and watercress soup. It was spring and the sun was warming during the day but the nights were still too cold so they ate inside as they had all winter, all sitting at the table in the kitchen.

"Your turn!" Anna said, looking towards Daryl.

He was still in mid-chew when he flipped over one of the cardboard squares. An ice cream sandwich. He took a moment, looking over the other cardboard squares and then looked at the one Aiden, sitting in Spencer's lap, had picked up and was now gnawing on the corner of.

"That one," Daryl said.

Spencer gently took it from his son's little pudgy hands and grinned as he showed them. An ice cream sandwich. He then handed it back to Aiden.

"Match!" Anna announced and made a mark on the piece of paper next to her where she had everyone's name and a tally of how many matches each of them had made. "You get another turn, Daryl."

Daryl took a large bite of bread and then picked up another square. This time, it was a banana split sundae. He flipped over another card to reveal a strawberry shortcake. He then looked to Beth, who smiled, and she leaned forward in her seat, taking her turn, not getting a match with the strawberry shortcake and a chocolate birthday cake.

"What's that?" Anna asked when she looked at the first card Aaron turned over.

"It's a French macaron," Aaron said and at Anna's puzzled face, he smiled a little. "It's like a little cookie sandwich," he explained. "Some people used to be crazy for them."

Anna was quiet for a moment. "I never tried one."

And she sometimes said that over something or other and it was such an innocent comment but it all hit them the same way.

She never tried something. And she never would.

Daryl spoke up first. "I never had one neither," he said and Anna smiled at him. "Give me Oreos any day." He gave her a little smile and Anna giggled.

"Oh, god, Oreos," Rosita practically moaned as she poured herself more water from the pitcher in the center of the table. "Oreo blizzards," she said, closing her eyes at the thought; as if it was such a pleasant one, she could hardly stand it.

"Dairy Queen," Beth then joined in with her own pleasant little moan. She looked at Daryl and giggled a little when he gave her a small smile.

When she had been making dinner earlier, making the soup and baking the bread – trying bread without yeast – she had been able to make a mixture of water, mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper. And after checking all around her, making sure that she was alone, she took a few quick chugs, nearly gagging but forcing herself to swallow it down, reminding herself that it would help with her dizziness.

And it did seem to help. At least for the moment. She could just hope that whatever it was that had been making her so dizzy, this particular concoction had taken care of it for her. Once again, her book hadn't failed her. And now, if anyone else got dizzy, she knew exactly what to do to help them.

Because that was what she did. When they were hungry or not feeling well, they came to her and Beth took care of them. Daryl said – and he had said it more than once – that without her, they would all die. Beth liked to tell him that they were all going to die eventually but Daryl just shook his head because she knew what he meant. And she did. But most of the time, she struggled to believe that she was as truly as important as Daryl made her out to be.

But on days like this, where she was faced with a problem and saw it through and was able to solve it, that was always a good day in Beth's opinion and she felt like maybe, just maybe, they would all be alright.

…

She was so tired and a little dizzy again but they drew names each night for watch duty and her name had been pulled. There was no argument when a name was pulled.

All was quiet. No walkers shuffling or snarling. No slight breeze blowing. Not even an owl hooting in the trees. The night was practically silent as Beth stood at the back fence, looking towards the dark forest beyond the yard, wanting to go back inside for more of that mustard and vinegar to drink down but she knew she couldn't leave her post for at least another two hours. She continued to stare into the dark trees and try to keep the world steady around her.

What was that?

Beth leaned into the fence, trying to peer closer when she thought she saw a flash of something among the trees. No, she didn't think. She _knew_ she had seen it. It was… well, she wasn't entirely sure what it was and her fingers tightened around the hilt of her knife.

She wasn't imagining it. She could see it. There it was again. A flash of red, running through the trees, and the moon acted as a spotlight, letting her know that she wasn't just seeing things. He was there, running through the tress, back and forth as if desperate to gain her attention. Well, he had it.

She stepped right up against the fence and stared out into the dark, quiet woods. And she smiled because there he was, just running back and forth, waiting for her. "Jack," Beth breathed, a smile stretching across her face.

And without waiting another second, without thinking it through – it was Jack; what was there to think about? – Beth took off, running through the garage, not closing the door behind her, and she ran as fast as she could for the trees.

...

* * *

 **Thank you very much for reading and please review!**


	6. Poison

**I have written well over 100,000 words for the _Fifty Four Days_ universe and if 3,800 words in the last chapter ruined the whole thing, hopefully, these next words in this chapter can fix it again. And some of you hit the nail right on the head with what was wrong with Beth. I loved reading all of the theories!**

* * *

…

 **Chapter Six.** Poison.

Daryl didn't stop to see if anyone was following after him. Armed with his crossbow, he took off running for the trees. He vaguely could hear them behind him. Aaron and Spencer were running to catch up with him and Rosita was staying behind with Anna and Aiden back at the house. But he didn't care who was coming and who was staying. His one and only thought, his one and only priority right now, was going after Beth.

He was a fucking idiot. He knew. He fucking knew that something was wrong with her yesterday and it didn't matter how many times she smiled and told him that she was alright. Of course she wasn't fucking alright. The vinegar hadn't been for the weeds. She hadn't said that but he had known because he knew her and all he had done was look at her, waiting for her to say something when he knew that she wasn't going to. He had watched and waited and he should have fucking pushed for her to answer. She pushed him sometimes – when she knew it was needed. He should have done the same with her.

Just inside the trees, Daryl stopped and studied the ground. Aaron and Spencer finally caught up, both breathing heavily. They stood, making sure they were out of his way, as Daryl worked quickly but closely. When Beth had run out sometime during her watch, she hadn't been running away and she hadn't been thinking about her tracks. It was easy to almost immediately figure out which direction she had gone into. Before taking off after her though, he stopped himself and saw the second set of prints near hers. A fox. He was able to take one look at it and identify it. A fox. Is that why Beth had run off?

He didn't look to see if Aaron and Spencer were with him when he took off again. Her tracks were some of the easiest he had ever followed. He heard a walker off in the back of his mind but he heard either Aaron or Spencer take it down. Daryl didn't stop. Walkers were the last thing on his mind right now. Right now, he had to find Beth. Walkers weren't the only thing in these woods that a person had to be wary about. People, bears… and Beth was sick and not in her right mind. And it was his fault she was out here. He knew she hadn't been feeling well. It had been obvious to him. And he had still let her take her watch when her name got pulled.

If anything had happened to Beth… he wouldn't be able to keep living and he'd go and find the first walker that would be willing to take a chunk out of him.

But, no. He wasn't going to think about that because Beth was still alive. He would feel it if she wasn't. He would feel it with every nerve in his body. No. She was still alive and he would find her and he would get her home and do anything he had to do to get her better. He wished he had paid attention in the past to when Beth was doing her thing. If this happened to someone else, Beth would know exactly what to do. She was their nurse. She kept them healthy and fed. She made sure their bellies were full and their bodies were warm when they went to bed at night. Beth took care of all of them. And now, she was the one who needed to be taken care of and Daryl couldn't even fucking find her.

"Daryl," Aaron said his name and Daryl immediately spun towards him, thinking that perhaps he had rushed right past Beth and the others saw her. But when he turned, he saw that Aaron was standing near some Queen Anne's Lace growing in clusters.

"Wha'?" Daryl all but growled, wondering why the hell Aaron had stopped him.

"Beth… she picks Queen Anne's Lace around here, doesn't she?" Aaron asked.

"So?" Daryl was still frowning at him. "Think she jus' picked some a couple days ago." Aaron visibly paled so quickly, Daryl felt his stomach drop at the man's reaction. "Wha's wrong, Aaron?" Daryl took a step closer towards the familiar white flowering plants.

Aaron shook his head. "She hasn't swallowed any of this batch yet, has she?"

Daryl shook his own head. "Not yet…" They hadn't had sex for a few days now and there was still a dried-out bouquet of the Queen Anne's Lace in their bathroom that Beth was crushing up for birth control.

Aaron sighed with relief at that.

"What?" Spencer asked now, frowning at Aaron, as impatient as Daryl was feeling.

"This isn't Queen Anne's Lace. This is Hemlock. _Poisonous_ Hemlock," Aaron said. "If she even touched it, it would make her really sick. And if she ingested just a tiny bit…"

"She didn't," Daryl said, back to growling.

He turned and began tracking her steps again. It took him just another minute and he saw a crumbled lump beside a rotting log of wood on the ground. He didn't even think as he went running, dropping to his knees, sliding to her.

"Beth."

He said her name, his throat so dry, he nearly choked. It looked as if she was sleeping. But she was pale. Way too fucking pale and it scared the shit out of him, seeing her like that. His hands were gentle on her face, feeling her cold, clammy skin and he brushed hair back from her face and then he ran his hands over her body, looking for any cuts or injuries and he was able to sigh with relief when he realized that she had none.

But she wasn't even stirring with him touching her and saying her name.

He didn't look to where he passed his crossbow. He was pretty sure Spencer grabbed it. Daryl shifted closer to her and his arms slipped underneath her back and her knees. He tried not to think about how cold she was. All he did was focus on her breathing. It was shallow, but she was still breathing and that was all that he cared about right now.

He didn't run this time, but he walked as fast as he could, hearing more snarls of walkers and Aaron and Spencer taking care of them on either side of him. He had never been more relieved to see their house than he was now when he burst through the trees and rushed as fast as he could to the door on the side of the garage.

"You found her!" He heard Anna exclaim, but Daryl didn't stop. Not until he was in their bedroom and he could lay Beth down gently on the bed. And then he straightened and stared down at her and couldn't seem to do anything except stare at her.

"Here, Daryl."

Rosita was beside him and he saw her beginning to gently pull Beth's boot off. Daryl snapped himself out of it to help her. Together, they undressed her until she was down to her bra and underwear and Daryl was still with it enough to look over his shoulder to see that he and Rosita were the only ones in the bedroom. Together, they get her completely naked and then Daryl changed her into a fresh pair of underwear and one of his shirts.

He laid her down and his hand ghosted down the side of her face. He looked at her closely. He had no fucking idea what to do. Beth would know. If this was anyone else and Beth was taking care of them, she would know exactly what had to be done. But Beth was the one who needed them right now. She needed them to make her better. And Daryl would be damned if they let her down. None of them would make it without her.

"Alright," Aaron said, coming into the bedroom with Spencer behind him, and Aaron had Beth's plant book open in his hands. "She needs to drink water. A lot of water. And we need to wash her hands from where she touched the hemlock."

Spencer was holding a pitcher of water in his hands and Daryl gently pulled her up enough for him to slip in behind her, sitting her up against his chest. He put his hand on her face, gently shaking her head back and forth.

"Beth," he said her name softly, trying to wake her up. "We need you to drink."

Beth moaned then and Daryl had never been more relieved to hear her make any kind of sound. "Jack," she whispered then. "Did you see?" She asked and he wondered if she even knew that she was saying anything.

"Yeah, Beth," Daryl said. He didn't tell her that he saw the fox prints, but they weren't Jack's. Jack was still dead and still buried beneath the cherry tree in the backyard. "Can you drink some water for us?" He asked.

Beth didn't answer and Daryl gently straightened her head on his chest. Rosita took the pitcher from Spencer and then sat down on the edge of the bed and slowly, she guided it to Beth's lips and Daryl kept her head straight and together, they got Beth to drink some water. They both looked to Aaron, still standing there with the book, and he nodded. Daryl and Rosita managed to get Beth to swallow down a bit more.

"Alright," Aaron said. "She needs to keep drinking water and…" his eyes scanned the page. "We obviously can't call poison control… Thankfully, she didn't eat any of it. If she did…" he trailed off and Daryl was glad for it.

He didn't need to hear anymore.

Aaron turned to Spencer. "Get the work gloves and get the hemlock out of the bathroom." He looked to Daryl. "Is it on the counter?"

"Yeah. She hasn't tied it up yet," Daryl said and he would go and show Spencer where it was, but there was no way he was going to leave Beth.

He looked back to Aaron, who was still reading through the pages of the book. Rosita brought the pitcher to Beth's lips again and this time, Beth seemed to drink it down without needing the aid though she still seemed more out of it than not.

"Potassium," Aaron said. "They keep mentioning potassium for some reason."

That made Daryl frown. "We don't have any fuckin' bananas, Aaron."

"Daryl," Rosita frowned at him and then she turned her head and Daryl followed her eyes, seeing Anna standing in the doorway with Aiden in her arms, watching them all. Daryl sighed heavily.

"Sorry," he mumbled to no one in particular; to all of them.

"Anna, do you know what kinds of mushrooms Beth picks?" Aaron asked, turning to the girl, and Anna didn't even hesitate before she was nodding. Aaron looked back to Daryl. "Mushrooms have a lot of potassium," he explained.

It all moved so quickly for Daryl. There really was no time anymore. He saw the way the shadows changed in the room with the moving sun and it was the only way that Daryl knew time was moving at all. Spencer took the hemlock out of the bathroom and took Anna out in the woods for mushrooms. Rosita stayed and helped Beth drink more water down every few minutes. Aaron read the book, looking for something he hadn't seen the first or second time he read. All Daryl really knew was he stayed sitting up with Beth in his arms, against his chest, for most of the day and he wasn't looking to move.

"Daryl," Beth murmured and Daryl instantly snapped to attention, turning his head so he could look to her face. "I miss Maggie."

Daryl swallowed. "Yeah, I know."

"Do you think she misses me?" Beth's words were slurred, as if she was drunk, but she sounded more alert than when he had first found her out in the woods.

"Course she misses you, girl," Daryl said, his arms tightening slightly around her. "Only an idiot wouldn' miss you."

"You've called Maggie an idiot before," Beth mumbled and he smiled a little at that. "Do you miss Rick?" She then asked him.

He heard a sharp gasp and he lifted his eyes to see Rosita staring at them with widened eyes. Daryl felt his brow furrow, wondering why she was looking at them like that, but then he looked back to Beth's face, not having the time to dwell on that.

"Yeah," he admitted in a soft grunt, which was more than anything he had said or admitted in the past few years since he last saw Rick.

He and Beth have an agreement to never speak of their first family; to not even think about them. He and Beth had moved on and their first family had, too. He and Beth had made an entirely new life for themselves. A hell of a life together. They had built this home up together; had made it safe for themselves and their new family.

"He misses you, too," Beth mumbled. She was drifting off again, her words slowing down. "And I miss Jack."

Daryl rested his lips to her temple. "Me, too."

"I saw him…" she reminded him. "Go out and bring him home, Daryl. He's not meant to be out there…"

Daryl tightened his arms just a bit more around her. "Yeah, I'll get 'im. You get some sleep," he said and no sooner had the words left his mouth that he heard her drift off.

He finally moved after that, but only because his legs and arms were asleep and he had to get them moving again. He moved slowly so not to wake Beth and when he stood up, he gently laid her down once more, hoping she was comfortable, covering her with the quilt. He watched her for a moment and he exhaled a deep breath as if he had been holding it. She was back home and there was color back in her cheeks and she was breathing normally again. Those were the only things that mattered to him.

Stepping into the kitchen, he closed the bedroom door behind him and looked to see who was there. At the moment, it was just Aaron.

"How is she?" Aaron asked, lifting his head from the book he was reading. He had set Beth's plant book aside and was now reading _Jurassic Park_ for the third time. Aaron loved his Michael Crichton books.

"Sleeping," Daryl answered with a nod.

"We'll give her more water and mushrooms when she wakes up," Aaron said. "Spencer took Anna out into the woods so she could pick more. I'm not sure how much Beth needs. The book doesn't say how much potassium. Or even why she needs it."

Daryl nodded at that and went outside to get himself some water from one of their rain barrels. First, he splashed some water on his face and then took the cup that they always left there, hanging from a nail in the wall, and filling it nearly to the brim, he chugged it down. He turned, seeing a walker heading his way from the other side of the fence, snarling, quickening its pace as much as it could. He heard a little giggle and he turned his head, seeing Aiden take a few shaky steps on his wobbly legs, Rosita securely holding his hand as they walked from the back door. If the baby saw the walker or not, Daryl didn't know because that was the world Aiden was born into. The dead walked around and to Aiden, it would be strange to him if they didn't. Daryl heard a growl and then a thump and without looking, he knew the walker had stumbled right into the trench that they had dug around the house's fence.

"Hi," Rosita gave him a small smile.

"Hey," Daryl grunted back.

Aiden looked up to Daryl and with a gummy grin and pointing a sticky finger at him, he let loose a string of babble words that none of them understood but all pretended they did. Daryl's lips twitched and he bent down, hoisting Aiden up into his arms.

"She sleeping?" Rosita asked. Daryl nodded, gently taking Aiden's hand when he tried to shove his fingers into Daryl's mouth. "So, you know Rick Grimes?" She then asked and Daryl swore that he damn near dropped Aiden to the ground.

Thankfully, he didn't. He stared at Rosita.

What? How? What the fuck?

Questions flooded his mind, but he wasn't able to say anything. He could just stare at her, but thankfully, Rosita seemed to see all of the questions on his face. With the same small smile, she reached over and took Aiden from his arms back into hers.

"When Beth said Rick… it's a small world now. I met him. I was with a group and we met up with him, Michonne and Carl. We were already with Maggie and Glenn and Tara."

Daryl didn't recognize that name but the others… they were all alive. Rick… Maggie… What about Carol and Judith? He didn't know what to say. Or even what to think. The ground felt unsteady beneath him.

"There's a place up north. Alexandria. We found it. It was a good community. Safe," Rosita continued. "Rick tried to keep us all safe. But a man, Negan… he took it all. I'll never go north again." She shook her head then and didn't say anything else and she held onto Aiden a little tighter as her thoughts got away from her.

Daryl stared at her, waiting for her to say something more though he knew she wouldn't.

He went back to the barrel, dunking the cup in again, guzzling down more water.

"Will you and Beth leave here to go see them?" Rosita asked and she was quiet and sounded almost worried. Daryl looked at her, wiping at his mouth. "Maggie mentioned she had a younger sister. Only once though. Never said her name. Said that she had died…"

Daryl smirked bitterly. "Of course she thought that."

His eyes went to the window at the back of the house that was his and Beth's bedroom. He had to get back inside. He didn't want her to wake up alone.

"Are you going to tell her?" Rosita asked.

He had to, didn't he?

"I don't know," he shook his head, dunking the cup into the barrel one more time.

Back inside the house, Daryl felt his head spinning. First, this morning, waking up to Spencer telling him that Beth was gone. To finding her and finding out that she had handled poisonous Hemlock to just now with Rosita. Their family was alive? Rick and Maggie and the others were all alive and all the way up in fucking Alexandria? Well, they definitely hadn't stuck around Georgia, trying to find him and Beth, had they?

He opened the bedroom door quietly so not to wake Beth, but when he peeked into the room, he saw that Beth was awake, curled on her side, quiet sobs raking over her body.

"Beth."

He hurried into the room, closing the door behind him, and he crawled onto the bed.

"Wha' is it?" He asked, his body behind hers, curling around hers, his arms holding onto her. And for a moment, Beth didn't answer. She just shook her head and kept crying and Daryl remained patient, holding onto her.

"What the hell is the matter with me?" She gasped out after another minute. "I know the difference between Hemlock and Queen Anne's Lace. It was one of the first things I taught myself. I can't believe… and then I was horrible enough to run out of here and leave the door wide open for any walker to get in and get you or the kids? And the chickens and Lucky-"

"Nothin' happened, Beth. You're safe. We're all safe," Daryl interrupts her gently. He was surprised she remembered anything from the night before and this morning considering how out of it she had been when he found her.

"I'm such an idiot," she whispered.

He tightened his arms around her and pressed his nose to the back of her neck. "You ain't. You know you ain't. We're all allowed to make mistakes."

Beth shook her head. "No, we're not. You know that."

Daryl didn't know what to say to that so he just held her tighter and closer. He'd tell her about Maggie when she was feeling better.

…

* * *

 **Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to review.**

 **Also, on my tumblr, I post pictures of inspiration for this story under the "fifty four days" tag.**


	7. Shock

**I love writing this story - and this whole universe - so, so much.**

* * *

…

 **Chapter Seven.** Shock.

For days after he told her, she didn't talk. Daryl being Daryl – and not knowing how else to do it – he sort of just blurted it out without having much plan behind it. Only when the words flew through his mouth did he cringe and regret it, but it was too late to take it back and have a redo. Beth heard what he said and she stared at him, her lips parted, her mouth hanging slightly open, but no sound left. She just stared at him and didn't move or say a word. And that made Daryl feel nervous for some reason and he shifted on his feet.

"We can go, if you wan'," he said, but only because he felt he had to say something else to her to try and get her to talk since he had just informed her that after all of these years, their family – their first family – had apparently been alive and somewhat well, up North. "I don't know how far it is, but we might have 'nough gas to get us up there."

Beth stared at him for another moment before shaking her head. "I should start on dinner," she said and began walking past him, ignoring the arm he extended towards her.

And that was the last thing she said and that had been two days ago.

They were always busy during the summer months. Every single day, there was something to do, and Beth was usually the one who told them all what to do – whether it be working on the fences, patrolling and adding yet another layer to their defenses to make the wood stronger, clearing the pits of the walkers who had stumbled in, gardening and weeding, taking care of their animals, doing laundry. There was plenty of work to do, but with Beth not talking and keeping herself mostly to the kitchen and garden, Daryl found himself being the one to dole out the jobs to everyone in the mornings, hoping that he was having them all do everything that needed to be done.

He wasn't going to rush her, but he wondered what Beth was going to decide to do. Did she want to go North? Did she want to see Maggie and rub in her face that she was still alive? Not only alive but she was pretty much keeping all of them alive, too. Maggie probably wouldn't believe it. She would probably think that she was alive because of Daryl and nothing had happened during these past few years that they had been separated. Maggie would take her sister into her arms and try to push her back into the baby role; the girl that was weak and had to be protected at all times.

Daryl knew that if it had been Merle, Daryl would have already been in the car, driving to go up and find him and see him again. But there was one difference between the Dixon brothers and the Greene sisters. Even when he found Merle's hand on the roof and no Merle, Daryl never doubted that his brother was alive somewhere out there. And Merle had thought the same about him. As soon as the prison fell and they had all run off in different directions, Maggie had written her sister off as fast as she could. No way could meek and weak Beth survive that. Best just forget her and never think about her again.

Daryl knew his wife was so quiet because she was thinking about that; thinking how Maggie had just assumed she was dead and hadn't even considered the slim possibility that Beth was still out there in the world somewhere; had never even bothered to try and look for her. Daryl didn't understand it. He'd turn this world upside down if he and Beth ever got separated and he was trying to find her again. And just thinking about Maggie Greene and Beth's hurt feelings, Daryl felt his own anger grow.

Only an idiot – someone truly stupid and selfish – would write Beth Greene-Dixon off.

Three things they had plenty of. Sometimes, their diet consisted of nothing but. They always had corn and tomatoes from their garden and peaches from the trees that were growing wild throughout the neighborhood. Beth had experimented over the years – different ways to cook and prepare – trying to break up the sometimes monotony of their meals. Once he and Beth had found the extreme couponer's stash a few months earlier, their own stash of supplies had nearly quadrupled. If they wanted, they could have pasta for dinner every week for the next two years.

But Beth being Beth, she didn't want to depend upon that. She learned how to make her own pasta: taking one of their chicken's egg and mixing it with flour on the counter and then flattening it out with her rolling pin. It never stopped amazing Daryl all of the things Beth could do. He almost wished they did go North so they could bring Maggie back down here with them and she'd then be able to see with her own two eyes just everything her sister had been able to do and teach herself.

That night, for dinner, they had deer that Daryl had killed that morning when the sun had just begun to rise. With people no longer around to hunt them down, and walkers too slow to catch them, the deer population had exploded and they seemed to be everywhere. They often saw them walking around their neighborhood, right past their house, and once, when Beth had been at the creek, collecting watercress, a few deer had appeared on the other side of the water as if she wasn't there, bending their heads down to lap at the water. Daryl only ever killed a deer though when they needed it. He didn't see a point to killing more than could be used; no matter how many of them there were around in the woods. The only time the deer became a threat was when they got it in their heads that they wanted to jump the fence and help themselves to the garden. But the moats dug around the house helped keep them away for the most part – and Daryl's crossbow seemed to scare them off well enough.

And along with the deer meat, they had peas that Anna had helped Beth shill as well ears of roasted corn and for dessert, Beth had made a peach pie. She had to improvise some of the parts, but it was something she had experimented with and played around with and now, they knew it was summer because Beth only ever baked peach pies in the summer. They went for months, craving it, and when Beth brought it out to the picnic table, they all devoured the whole thing. It was quite the feast for no particular reason.

As the others talked as they ate, and they all laughed as Aiden got peach pie all over his face and fingers from feeding himself, Daryl kept looking over to Beth. She still hadn't said a word. In two days, she hadn't said a word – not even to him. She was so lost in her thoughts and for once, he couldn't even begin what she was thinking and that was scary as shit to Daryl because having been together for all of this time, they had both gotten pretty damn good at reading one another. Most times, they knew what the other was going to do before they actually did it.

He had never had a problem with Maggie until after the prison fell and it was just him and Beth, searching what felt like the whole damn state for her. And then they had seen those signs Maggie had written by the train tracks for Glenn – and only Glenn – and his opinion of Maggie Greene changed pretty damn fast. And now, finding out that their second family had known their first family and learning that Maggie had only mentioned that she had had a sister one time to others – and not even saying Beth's name – Daryl's opinion of her sunk even lower – if that was possible.

After dinner, Beth helped clean up their plates and then, still without a word, she turned and went back into the house. Rosita picked up the bin of dishes, ready to take them down to the creek for washing, and she all but pushed Daryl after her.

"Go," Rosita said and then, without waiting to see if he would, she turned away. "Come on, Anna," she said to the girl and they both walked off towards the garage.

Daryl followed Beth's path into the house and within a second, he saw that she wasn't in the kitchen or the family room and he headed towards their bedroom. It was the largest bedroom – what used to be the master – and it was right off the kitchen. Sure enough, Beth was in there, sitting up on the bed, her knees pulled up and a book across her thighs.

"What you readin'?" Daryl asked, coming to the bed to sit down beside her, making sure he took off his boots before he did. No boots on the bed – one of the house rules.

Beth showed him the cover. _Practical Botany for Gardeners_ – one of the books they had found in one of the houses and was part of the collection of books that Beth had read no less than a dozen times.

Daryl sat up next to her, stretching his legs out, and he looked at her. "Do you know wha' you wanna do?" He asked her in a low voice. "You know I'll do anythin' you wanna do."

Beth was quiet for another moment. "I'm pregnant," she then said – her words soft, but dropping as loud as cannonballs exploding.

And for a moment, Daryl wasn't sure if he actually heard what she had just said. He stared at her and he was pretty sure she had said what he _thought_ she said, but how was that even possible? Okay. He wasn't an idiot. He knew how it was possible. But the Queen Anne's lace hadn't failed them in all of this time. Sometimes, he came inside of her. Sometimes, he didn't. But either way, Beth drank the doses down and they hadn't even had a scare in the time since they had been using it as a birth control method.

"You sure?" He finally asked, practically grunting out the question.

Beth gave a nod. "I've been pretty regular since we've settled here and have been able to eat steadily. I'm late," she then said, all the time her eyes on him, watching him. "And when you were roasting the deer earlier, I just about threw up at the smell of it."

"Sorry," he mumbled, his eyes drifting down to her still flat tummy.

Really? A baby? He honestly didn't know how he felt about it. He knew one thing for certain though. Who the hell was going to deliver this kid and help Beth with the labor since she was the only one who knew how to do it? She had delivered Aiden like some damn expert and she couldn't very well shout out instructions of what to do when she was pushing a kid out of her.

And then, of course, he thought of Lori just as he had when Rosita told them she was pregnant. It would be impossible to not think of Lori in a situation like this. Who the hell could forget her and what had happened to her? Of course, her pregnancy hadn't been an easy one – and not just because no one knew for certain who the baby's daddy was. They had been running for months – after the farm but before the prison. They had never had enough to eat; only finding a place safe enough to sleep for a couple days at a time. It had been hard on everyone and not everyone was carrying a baby inside of them.

He knew things were different now than with Lori. Here, they had a safe house, a strong fence and were able to protect it. They had food and herbs and medicines. They weren't constantly running and hungry. Honestly, this was the best Daryl's life had ever been – even with dead people walking around. And he knew that if anyone could do this – have a baby in this world – it was Beth. Good and strong and brave Beth.

Slowly, as if he didn't want to hurt her, his hand slid over her stomach, resting there. Beth instantly put her hand over his and gave him a small smile.

"How you feelin' otherwise?" He asked and for as observant as he usually is, he had absolutely no idea how he had missed something this massive going on with Beth.

"I'm fine," she answered him softly, her eyes set on his face. "When you told me about Maggie… and Rick and all of the others, alive and not in Georgia anymore, I knew they weren't. I've known that for so long, but I guess actually hearing it…" she trailed off for a moment and he lifted his other arm, slipping it around her shoulders. "I'm so happy and scared about this baby, but hearing that, it's just made me so sad because when I found out I was probably pregnant, you know what I thought of after you? I wish daddy and Maggie were here to see this."

Daryl didn't know what to say to that. He didn't even know if she wanted to say anything. So he just kept his hand on her stomach and his arm around her shoulders and he held her close.

"So, are we gonna tell the others?" He asked and Beth smiled faintly.

"We're going to have to, don't you think?" She asked and his lips twitched a little because she was teasing him and after two days of silence, that sounded so damn good. She lifted a hand to his face and rubbed a thumb along his cheek, looking at him.

This woman, his wife, he had seen her when she had still be a girl – terrified of this new world and not knowing how to handle herself in it. But she survived the winter just like they all had and then, when the prison fell… that's when Beth Greene really began kicking ass. Every single thing she did was amazing. The garden she grew and the food she made and what she was able to do with flowers and herbs and plants from the woods, it still made Daryl's head spin because he never even _thought_ of doing any of these things. He had his crossbow and he was fierce with it and he could keep her safe, but Beth was really the one who kept them alive.

And now, she was pregnant with a baby. _His_ baby.

How was she even real?

"Are you okay?" She asked him softly and he looked at her. "With the baby and with Rick and the others…"

Daryl decided he didn't want to talk about Rick and the others – not right now, at least. Rick and the others had obviously not talked about them.

"'m fine," he answered and maybe he said it a little too quickly because Beth kept looking at him as if he hadn't already answered the question. "I mean it. 'm fine. Prob'ly a lil' in shock," he then admitted truthfully and Beth smiled faintly at that. "But if you're fine, _really_ fine…"

"I am," she said. "Scared, but excited. Our own little baby," she said with a smile.

And because she was smiling and seemed to be happy about it, Daryl decided to just forget about how he was scared out of his mind right now, and be a little happy, too. It was absolutely terrifying, but it could be something good, too. Maybe. Hopefully.

"We still need to find a goat," Beth said, changing the subject completely. "Lucky's starting to produce less and less milk and I know we've gotten along fine without milk before, but if we can have it, we should definitely take it."

"I know," Daryl nodded.

They didn't go out on nearly as many runs as they used to – gasoline expired eventually and even though Daryl knew it was probably still fine, the risk of it seemed less worth it and honestly, they didn't have to get as many things anymore – but every time Daryl did leave the neighborhood and the woods, heading out in search of something in any of the areas around them, he kept his eyes open for a male goat, as if one would just be walking around now, knowing how much Beth wanted one and how the family needed one.

"What else do you need, for the baby?" Daryl asked.

Beth smiled. "Things I already have. Peppermint Leaf will help me with the nausea and morning sickness."

That made Daryl frown. "You been havin' a lot of that?" The idea of Beth throwing up didn't rest well with him even if he knew she was supposed to be doing it.

Beth shrugged. "Normal amount." Her hand lifted back to his cheek. "Daryl, I've been thinking… I don't want to go North. Maybe after the baby is born, but right now, I just want to stay home." She paused for a moment and Daryl looked at her, knowing that she had something else to say so he just waited for her to continue. "I don't know if I want to see them," she said almost in a whisper, her eyes falling down from his, looking to their hands on her stomach.

He nodded without commenting. He got that. And he was in complete agreement with her. He didn't know if he would ever be able to see those people again – whether they went after their baby's birth or not. He didn't want to think about Rick or Carol just leaving him behind. If he thought about it, he knew he would just start thinking that of course they hadn't stayed and looked for him. Who would stay behind just for him?

Besides Beth, of course.

Beth laughed softly. "I honestly can't believe you're not freaking out a bit more right now about this," she said as she rubbed her hand over his.

"Trus' me," he smirked a little. "'s comin'. When you leas' expect it."

She laughed again and then leaning into him, she pressed her lips to his in a soft kiss.

The next morning, over corncakes for breakfast and bowls of slightly stale Frosted Flakes – another thing they had gotten from the extreme couponer – Beth told the rest of the family about the pregnancy.

"Oh my gosh!" Rosita exclaimed and was the first out of her chair, throwing her arms around Beth in a tight embrace. Beth laughed and wrapped her arms around her in return. Rosita pulled her head back to look at her. "And I'll read and you'll teach me and I'll do the delivery like you did for me."

"Thank you," Beth said and they could all see the tears glistening in her eyes despite the bright, happy smile on her face.

"We'll all help!" Anna exclaimed, also getting up to hug her first and then hug Daryl.

"Of course we will," Spencer said, taking his turn to hug her.

"You do everything," Aaron finished, standing up and wrapping Beth up in his arms for a tight hug. "It's time we do something for you."

Beth sniffled and gave them all a watery smile. "You guys are the best. Thank you." Rosita wrapped her arm around her shoulders and pulled her into her side for another hug. "Okay. Let's clean up breakfast and then we have laundry to do and Anna, you haven't taken a bath in two days, so you bring your soap down to the creek. We still have deer left over from yesterday so I'll make a deer pie for dinner."

Daryl smiled as he listened to her giving out the instructions of what they were going to do that day and he couldn't take his eyes off of her. She didn't look pregnant. She probably wouldn't look it for a couple more months and he tried to remember Rosita's pregnancy and how soon it was until she started showing.

He knew it hadn't really registered with him yet. Beth was pregnant and yet, he felt no panic. As he told her, that would come later. Right now, he knew that his mind was still taking its time, registering the news. He and Beth were going to have a baby in a few months. Soon, he'd think that thought and he'd be able to believe it. But whether or not his mind was caught up with the truth, he knew that he damn well better be sure that everything was ready for both Beth and the baby to be born in complete health and safety.

There was no other possible ending to this than that.

…

* * *

 **Thank you very much for reading and please comment!**


	8. Promise

**Thank you so, so much to those who read and take the time to review. I can't express just how much I love taking my time with researching and writing this particular story and I am so excited for what I still have planned to come. As always, inspiration pictures for this story are on my tumblr, under the "fifty four days" tag, so check it out if you're interested!**

* * *

…

 **Chapter Eight.** Promise.

"Don't take this the wrong way because I love you, but you're really annoying the hell out of me," Beth informed Daryl with a slight frown and Aaron, who was out with them that morning, turned his head away so Daryl couldn't see his amused smile.

Daryl blinked at her. "What am I doin'? I'm just standin' here."

"Exactly. You're standing there and you're _staring_ at me," she said. "Just stop."

And with that, she turned back towards the cabinets, resuming her search through them.

They had absolutely no plans to go out on a run. They hadn't gone out on one in weeks; not needing anything that they couldn't make themselves. And when they did go out on runs, they rarely found things that were of use anymore. Most canned food were now far past their expiration date and were no longer that safe to eat and everything else, it was just rotten or molded, rusted or falling apart and useless. The earth was taking back things for themselves and the humans left, they had to learn how to adapt.

That morning, Anna had gone into the garage to milk Lucky – as was her usual morning chore – but had come in with just a few squirts in the bucket. Beth had gone to look over the goat and a few minutes later, she came back inside, announcing that they were going on a run to try and find a male goat. Everyone knew that it would be damn-near impossible. If the walkers hadn't gotten to them, other people had probably already taken what was left and Daryl had a hard time believing goats able to survive in the wild.

They drew names from the basket as they always did and this time, it was Daryl, Beth and Aaron while Rosita and Spencer stayed at the house with Anna and Aiden. Daryl hadn't said anything in actual words, but Beth was able to read him as clearly as one of her books and she knew that he didn't like the idea of her going out on a run. Anything, absolutely anything, could happen while out on a run and the news of the pregnancy was still so new and Daryl saw Beth going as taking an unnecessary risk and all for a goat they all knew they probably wouldn't be able to find anyway.

They took the pickup truck – needing the bed in the back if a miracle happened and they did find something – and after Daryl did his inspection – checking the oil and engine, tires and gas tank – they set off. Beth had packed some food to bring with them because she had a feeling they would have to go further out than they had yet and probably wouldn't be able to get back home until the next day.

Daryl drove and Beth sat between him and Aaron as they headed further North. Daryl had already told both of them that they wouldn't be crossing the border out of Georgia. Even though he had never been out of the state, he wasn't looking to start now. Going on runs was his thing. His job. And it always had been. He had always taken it upon himself to head out and find whatever it was that the group needed. But lately, runs hadn't been as necessary as they once were. They had clothes and what they didn't have, Rosita was able to make for them. She was a whiz on the sewing machine. And they had food and medicine. They really had everything they needed. They even had books and a record player and board games to play.

He and Beth hadn't gone on a run together in so long, Daryl had actually almost forgotten how nerve-wracking it was. And now that she was pregnant, that was only making him more anxious about all of them being out here.

After about three hours of driving, heading Northeast, he had brought them upon a subdivision and it looked like it had been cleaned out years earlier, but Daryl turned and drove down the main road.

"Looks fancier than ours," Aaron mused as he and Beth peered out the windows.

"Don't mean they have any shit here," Daryl grunted and pulled to the curb in front of a random house for no particular reason other than he was sick of driving.

Aaron was right. The houses here were all massive. This particular one was three stories and all brick. Daryl never understood why people needed such huge houses like this. He bet a family no bigger than four people used to live here. Waste of damn space and money if anyone asked him.

With his crossbow loaded and aimed, he led the way with Beth behind him, her knife drawn in her hand, and Aaron had his trusty machete, bringing up the rear. Tree limbs were lying in the driveway and yard, making Daryl think that a strong storm had whipped through here at one point or another. Climbing up the steps, he moved aside and Beth took the lead, knocking the handle of her knife heavily against the door. They waited and all heard the shuffling inside at the same time.

Her fingers closed around the doorknob, testing it, nodding to them when it turned. Daryl and Aaron stood, ready, and Beth pushed the door open. Daryl fired an arrow immediately, killing one of the walkers, and Beth and Aaron stabbed at the others. Daryl had been right. A family of four now laid dead – for good – in the front entrance hallway. A mom, dad, and two teenage girls.

"They look newer," Beth noticed. "I wonder how long they were able to hold out here."

Daryl looked down at them for a moment. He knew it bothered her when they saw walkers who looked fresh. In Beth's mind, how many more people were there in this world that they would have to put down? It felt like they had already killed thousands and they weren't the only living people left, killing walkers. But no matter how many they seemed to kill, there were always hordes more.

They stuck together as they checked the first level of the house. Beth allowed her fingers to run over the keys of the black Baby Grand piano in the front room, but she didn't dare push any of them down although Daryl could see that she wanted to. Badly. It had been a long time since she had been able to play a piano and her fingers were probably itching.

Daryl wished more than anything that they could get her a piano.

Everything was coated in a layer of thick dust and Daryl saw the fireplace against the wall. He then noted the lack of furniture and the empty bookshelves. It didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened. Trying to keep themselves warm, the family had burned furniture, books and probably anything else they could before they died. He wondered why the piano had been spared. A lot of wood made up a piano.

There wasn't a whole hell of a lot to go through. The cabinets in the kitchen were bare except for a pack of what used to be vanilla pudding cups, but had now changed to the color of rust, and a lone can of baked beans. None of them were looking for food though. They had enough of that back home.

Daryl wished they were back there now.

He followed closely behind Beth, reaching past her as she stood on her toes, and he opened the top cabinets for her, not wanting her to stretch herself like that.

"Don't take this the wrong way because I love you, but you're really annoying the hell out of me," Beth informed Daryl with a slight frown.

Daryl blinked at her. "What am I doin'? I'm just standin' here."

"Exactly. You're standing there and you're _staring_ at me," she said. "Just stop."

Daryl didn't though and when she wandered into the family room, he was right behind her, ignoring the way she sighed when he walked right into her when she had stopped.

"Hey." Aaron picked up a box of matches from the coffee table and opening it, he took a glance inside. "Four left." And with that, he took his pack from off his back and slipped the box inside to take home with them.

Everything else on the first floor either was far too gone to be useful to them or they just didn't need it. Without discussing it, they headed up the stairs. Beth moved to walk up first, but without a word, Daryl took his arm and gently pulled her back a step so she was walking behind him and he could go up first. He didn't have to look at her to be able to imagine the look she was giving him. He could feel it on his back.

The clothes hanging in the rooms were pretty much useless. Scraps of clothes disintegrating on their hangers and in their drawers. Some have been made home to nests of mice. Nonetheless, they opened every drawer and every door – just in case.

One of the teenage girls had been what Daryl had always imagined teenage girls to be like before the world ended. Snobby, stupid cheerleaders who liked pink too much. But it was in this room that Beth found one book on the desk that hadn't been burned downstairs in the fireplace for warmth and it was one that made her smile faintly as she looked down at the cover. Daryl came up to look over her shoulder.

"'s that?" He asked.

" _Jane Eyre_ ," Beth answered as she took a moment to flip through the dusty pages. "It was always one of my favorites." She turned her head and looked up at him. "We should read this next," she then suggested.

Daryl took the book from her hand and put it into her pack for her. She smiled and then standing on her toes, she pressed her lips to his lightly. Daryl allowed himself a moment to kiss her back, his hand ghosting across her cheek, but he pulled his lips back and she gave him a small smile. One he returned. No kissing on runs. That was their rule. Getting distracted led to stupid mistakes.

On the way out of the bedroom, Beth found some black hairbands on the dresser and she took those as well. She and Rosita seemed to go through hairbands as fast as they could find them.

Aaron was in the bedroom across the hall, which had belonged to the other teenager. She hadn't been a cheerleader like her sister, but she had still liked too much pink and posters of movie stars and pop groups were fading on the walls.

"Check it out, Beth," Aaron smiled, and held up a small stack of records he had found.

Beth gasped and hurried over. "I would not expect her to have this kind of music," she said as she threw an eye towards the Justin Timberlake poster on the wall.

Daryl saw what she meant. Led Zeppelin. Another Led Zeppelin. Van Morrison. The Beach Boys. The Beatles. "Tryin' to educate herself from the looks of it," he guessed.

"We're definitely taking these," Beth said as if there had been an argument against it.

"Not much else in here," Aaron said and turned his head, taking another glance around the room, just in case he had missed something the first time. He then picked something up from the desk. A box of colored pencils. "Upstairs?" He asked.

"Yeah," Daryl nodded in agreement and swung his crossbow back into both hands.

They left the bedroom and headed for the door at the end of the hall. It was closed and just to be on the safe side, Beth knocked on it with her knife's handle. They then waited for a passing minute, all three listening carefully and holding their breath. But it remained quiet and ever so slowly, Daryl turned the doorknob and opened the door, all of them almost instantly coughing as thick air filled with dust hit them. It felt – and smelled – like this room hadn't been open for years.

Daryl took the stairs slowly with Beth behind him and Aaron behind her. He didn't know what he was expecting other than an attic and that was exactly what it was. An attic filled with chests of old clothes and pictures, school projects, and VHS home videos. Boxes were labeled with Thanksgiving and Christmas Decorations and Beth took a moment to go through each. They didn't celebrate the holidays anymore – having absolutely no idea what day would be the right day to do so; not that it would really matter either way. But maybe they could start doing so again. Especially with Anna and Aiden and now hers and Daryl's own little baby coming…

She opened the Christmas box and smiled as she saw the boxes of ornaments. And beneath that, she saw wreaths and tangles of lights and different sized candles – all having lost their scent long ago, but Beth could imagine that they would smell like cinnamon and cranberry and fresh snow. She took off her pack and began loading every single candle. She then moved to the Thanksgiving box, finding more in there.

"Check it out," Daryl said and both Beth and Aaron lifted their heads. He was holding up a long, bendable basket. "Looks 'bout the right size for Aiden, don't you think? For maybe when he's nappin'."

Beth burst into a smile at that. "It looks perfect."

At the moment, when the baby was outside with them, and they wanted to keep him close and stop him from crawling off – and possibly sticking something in his mouth that he shouldn't – they held him in a piece of fabric they knotted around their neck.

"For our baby, too, when that time comes," Daryl then added and Beth's smile softened and her eyes flooded with tears.

"Yeah," she managed to say in a whisper.

Daryl hadn't mentioned the baby much over the past couple of weeks since she told him. She knew that it took him time to process things – especially of this magnitude – and she wasn't pushing him to talk about it. Pushing Daryl was the worst thing that could be done. She had definitely learned that from past experience. Daryl would clamp up and crawl further into himself and probably never talk again.

It was the best this way; to let him mention it first. He had promised her that he would be having a freak out and she was still expecting it. There was no way that Beth could tell him that she was pregnant and he _not_ freak out about it. Most who knew him wouldn't expect him to have much of a reaction, but Beth was the last person on this earth who knew Daryl Dixon better than anyone. He most definitely was going to be having a freak out.

They left the house then, loading the basket and the candles from Beth's pack into that into the back of the truck. They then headed into the next house and the house after that. These houses had been raided long ago and there was nothing left that could even be considered useful to them. Nature had already begun to creep in. Winds and animals and planted their own things and bushes and even trees were starting to sprout from the floors and kudzu was beginning to cover walls and floors. Beth imagined that in another year, some of these houses would be covered completely and passing people wouldn't even be able to see the houses anymore.

Back at the truck, Aaron had pulled the atlas from underneath the front seat and opened it across the hood.

"What's up?" Daryl asked, coming to stand at his side as Beth went to go put the bar of soap they had found into the basket.

"I found an envelope with an address in one of the houses," Aaron said as his eyes searched for the town on the map. "I think we're here," he then said, pointing to a place east from where they lived. "We're near the mountains." He lifted his eyes, scanning their surroundings. "I bet about a half hour that way," he said and pointed north.

"Do you know what usually lives in mountains?" Beth asked, coming up to them, her eyes settled on Daryl.

He read her mind and couldn't help but smirk a little with a shake of his head. "Not the Georgia mountains," he said.

"Why not?" Beth couldn't help but frown a little. "You can't say that anymore, Daryl. We're getting more snow now in winters then Georgia has ever gotten before. Dead people are walking around. The world is changing and maybe there are goats in the Georgia mountains now." She looked down to the map for a moment and then back to the two men. "We're going to go to the mountains."

"Now, hold on for a second." Daryl was frowning now, too, and his hand reached out, gently cupping Beth's elbow as if he was expecting her to walk off right then. "We can't just say we're goin' to the mountains and then go for a climb. We ain't got enough supplies for somethin' like that."

Beth was still frowning, but she knew he was right. It was warm down here, but it would be colder up there and they were all in tee-shirts. And with them, they only had enough food and water to get them through two days. No one knew how long it would take, but she knew it would be longer than two days. And she knew that Daryl was right. There was absolutely no guarantee there would be goats up there and who knew how long they would be climbing in the mountains until they gave up?

And deep down, she also knew that Daryl would never let her go.

"We need a goat, Daryl," Beth said in a soft voice.

"I know. And we'll get one. I promise," Daryl said and he never promised anything anymore, but he was promising her this and Beth knew that with that, he would now tear what was left of the world to find this for her.

Ignoring their rule at the moment, Daryl leaned in and pressed his lips to her forehead and Beth closed her eyes and leaned against him.

"Hey," Aaron broke through their moment. "We have to go."

Both Daryl and Beth turned their heads. Coming up the street – still enough distance away, but definitely coming their way – was a small herd. Just about twenty or so, but big enough for Daryl, still cupping Beth's elbow, to quickly all but haul her into the truck and after he and Aaron climbed in and shut their doors as quietly as possible – not wanting to draw more attention to them – Daryl fired up the engine and drove away from the neighborhood as quickly as he could.

Now that they had a plan, he began the drive back home.

He had been driving for about an hour when he felt Beth's head on his shoulder and looking down at her, he had seen that she had fallen asleep. He remembered when Rosita had first been pregnant with Aiden, she'd be down in the basement, sleeping all night and taking naps throughout the day. Daryl couldn't even imagine how tired it was to carry someone around in their bellies for nine months.

Slowly, so not to wake her, he lifted his arm so it could go around her shoulders and he drove with one hand as Beth remained asleep and nestled in close to his chest. On the other side of her, Aaron sat with the atlas open in his lap, his head bent as he studied it.

"What do you think?" Daryl asked, keeping his eyes on the road and talking quietly so Beth didn't wake up.

"I figured it took us about three hours to get to those houses," Aaron answered. "So, let's figure four hours to finding a good spot to start hiking." Daryl nodded in agreement and Aaron continued. "I'll go. I've climbed mountains before. And you'll come because I don't want to get lost."

Daryl allowed himself a little smile at that.

"A'righ. Jus' the two of us. We'll pack 'nough supplies to be gone for a week. If we need more time, we'll go home for a couple days 'fore leavin' again."

Aaron nodded at all of that and was quiet for a moment. "You think there's really any goats left for us to find?"

 _No_ , Daryl wanted to answer, but he stopped himself before he did. He couldn't say that because he didn't know that. Beth was right. He supposed now that there weren't as many people screwing this planet up anymore, damn near anything was possible.

For all he knew, the damn dinosaurs could start coming back and there could be a thousand goats up in those mountains.

He'd never know if they didn't go look for them. And besides, he had made a promise and he wasn't one to go back on his promises. Especially those he made to Beth.

…

"Perfect fit," Rosita smiled as she laid Aiden down in his basket, but the baby didn't want to lay down at the moment and he gripped the sides of the basket, pulling himself back up so he was in a sitting position.

In the warm months, they ate outside and after dinner that night of cabbage and noodles that Rosita had made for them, they all lingered, sitting around in the grass. They had piled their dishes into the bin to take down to the creek for washing and now, they watched as Anna ran around the yard, chasing and catching fireflies.

Beth was quiet and Daryl looked at her.

"You a'righ?" He asked her even though she probably wasn't. She had been quiet since he and Aaron had told the others of their plans to head back to the mountains. He sat a little closer to her. "'s jus' for a few days. Gotta find that goat. And I'll be comin' back. I promise."

Beth lifted her eyes and turned her head to look at him. "You're making a lot of those lately."

He shrugged. "'cause I mean 'em." His hand slowly slid over her lower stomach, still flat. "You know I gotta come back. I ain't lookin' for you to 'ave this kid without me and 's my job to teach this one to hunt. Everyone else is shit at it."

A small smile broke through at that and Beth leaned into him, closing her eyes and pressing her face into the side of his neck. Daryl turns his lips to kiss her head.

"I'll be right back," She said after a quiet minute and he figured she had to go to the outhouse, but instead, Beth got to her feet and went into the house.

He wasn't sure what she was doing, but then he heard it. She had cranked up the record player to full power and kept the volume low, but they could all hear it from the table in the kitchen. She was playing The Beatles.

 _"_ _Picture yourself in a boat on a river,  
With tangerine trees and marmalade skies.  
Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly,  
A girl with kaleidoscope eyes._

 _Cellophane flowers of yellow and green,  
Towering over your head.  
Look for the girl with the sun in her eyes,  
And she's gone."_

Aiden had never heard recorded voices singing before and the baby turned his head, looking at all of them, trying to figure out where the singing was coming from. He stretched his arms out and Spencer lifted him out of the basket and settled him into his lap, listening to the song with a smile.

"My brother loved Nine Inch Nails," Spencer said. "Was always blasting them no matter how many times our parents yelled at him to turn it down. I didn't hate it, but I didn't understand how he could do anything with it blaring. My room was across the hall from him and I pretty much lived with headphones on. I was usually playing these guys."

Anna abandoned her firefly hunt to come back to where the others were. She sat down in the grass with a plop. "My daddy loved this song and anytime he played it, mommy always teased him and said it was about nothing but drugs. Is that true?"

"Of course not," Beth was quick to shake her head. "It's about a girl named Lucy who lives in the sky among the stars, which sparkle like diamonds."

Daryl smirked at her and Beth did her best to hide her smile.

"Drugs are bad," Anna then informed them all with her seven or eight-year-old severity; as if they were all taking some right now.

"Yes, they are," Aaron said. "But that's one thing we don't have to worry about anymore. Some good has come from the end of the world, if you think about it," he then added in a quiet voice; like an afterthought.

They all silently agreed with that. So much had happened, most bad, but some good things had happened, too, that would never had happened otherwise.

And Daryl leaned back on his hands, listening to the song play – as they all were – and his thoughts drifted off to Merle, like they sometimes did. He rarely thought of anyone who had passed on, but when he did, it was usually always of Merle and Hershel. He didn't see the point of thinking about anyone else.

He knew it was pointless missing anyone anymore. So many people had died. It was hardly something that needed to be dwelled on. But sometimes, he really missed Merle and wondered how Merle would have fit into this house and this family.

Beth leaned in to kiss his cheek as if she could read his mind. And knowing Beth, she probably could.

"When are you going to leave?" She asked softly.

"A couple days," he answered and found it hard to look at her. He didn't like the idea of leaving her any more than she did.

Since the prison all that time ago, they hadn't been apart from one another for more than a few hours. Daryl honestly didn't know if he even remembered how it was to be without Beth.

…

* * *

 **Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to leave a review!  
**


	9. Road Trip

**Shorter chapter, but it leads right into the next portion of the story. I have more ideas of what I want to happen and I am so excited to write out all of these plans. I just love Daryl and Beth in this universe - especially Beth. She is so kick ass.**

* * *

…

 **Chapter Nine.** Road Trip.

Daryl made love to Beth one more time the morning he and Aaron were set to leave. They were both in bed and when he opened his eyes, feeling the dim sunlight beginning to filter through their bedroom window, he slowly turned his head on the pillow to find Beth lying on her side beside him, facing him; already awake and watching him as he slept.

He didn't say anything and neither did she. He didn't really want to talk. He and Aaron were leaving today, heading north, into the Georgia mountain range, and they were only going to be gone for a few days, but anything could happen in those few days. They had no idea what they would find up there. They knew what they were looking for, but none of them even knew if what they needed was in this world anymore. But they would never know if they didn't go out and try to find it.

They moved towards one another at the same time, her arms sliding around his shoulders as he rolled his body on top of hers, placing her beneath him on her back. They kissed one another over and over again and within minutes, he pushed himself inside of her, listening to the slight catch in her throat and feeling the way she tightened around him. Daryl closed his eyes a moment, just losing himself for a moment inside of her before he began to thrust slowly.

Beth kept count of passing days in one of her journals and so they both knew that they had been here for a little over three years. Three years since they found this house and made it safe and grew their garden. Three years since they had run from that prison and got separated from their family and became one another's everything. They hadn't been separated since – not for more than a few hours when one had gone on a run and the other stayed behind. Daryl didn't say it and neither did Beth, but they were both afraid, deep down, to be away from one another.

Beth moaned softly and whimpered his name as he moved above her, within her, and Daryl kissed every spot of her skin that he could reach without moving away from her or stopping moving inside of her.

Even though he didn't want to be away from her, he would never ask her to come. None of them knew what he and Aaron would find in those mountains. Herds of walkers or even worse. Other people. People were worse than walkers nowadays and if there were other communities of people out there somewhere, Daryl wasn't looking to meet them and be a part of them. Beth was pregnant – with _their_ baby – and Daryl wasn't about to let her leave the safety of their home for anything.

When Rosita had told them that she and Spencer were going to have a baby, they scavenged the area and found one baby book that they all took turns reading so they could all be prepared for what was to come. Daryl remembered the chapters on the first trimester. Beth was just a couple of months pregnant right now – not very visible to anyone's eye though Daryl could see that her breasts were a bit swollen – and he knew how fragile this time was. She needed rest and to keep it easy or she could lose the baby and they had never discussed having kids – not even during Rosita's pregnancy or after the birth – but when Beth told him, he had been shocked, but his first immediate thought hadn't been 'no'. He didn't want anything to happen to Beth or to their baby because with or without talking about it, Daryl knew that they both wanted this baby.

When Beth climaxed, her legs and arms squeezed around him and her nails dug into his skin as she cried out softly. And Daryl didn't stop until he followed after her, emptying inside of her and burying his face in the side of her throat to muffle his groan. And though their skin was sweaty and they uncomfortably stuck together, neither made a move to get away from the other.

"Five days. If you're not back in five days, I'm coming to find you," Beth whispered.

Daryl almost smiled even though he didn't doubt that Beth would do just that. He lifted his head from her throat and looked at her.

"Don' worry 'bout me when I'm gone. Just take care of you and this lil' one," he said.

Beth gave him a look. " _Of course_ I'm going to worry about you. What a stupid thing to say to me, Daryl Dixon."

And this time, Daryl did smile.

They both rose from bed a few minutes later and they didn't talk as they got themselves dressed. It was warm out but while Beth dressed herself in jeans and a tee-shirt, Daryl pulled on jeans and a tee-shirt and packed his hooded sweatshirt and jacket into his pack to take with him along with extra pairs of socks. Even if he couldn't change or bathe in the next few days, keeping his feet dry was always the priority. If his feet got cold or wet, the rest of his body falling sick would follow.

"Do you want to take a blanket?" Beth asked.

None of them knew what it would be like up in the mountains and Daryl had no idea how high he and Aaron were climbing. Usually, runs were planned down to the absolute minute detail, but this time, Daryl felt like they were all nothing but blind.

"Nah," he decided and shook his head. "I'll put my sweatshirt and jacket on if I get cold. Don't wanna be weighed down with too many things."

Beth frowned a little at his answer but didn't push the matter as she made their bed and folded the quilts neatly once again.

Coming out of their bedroom, they saw the others awake and eating eggs for breakfast from the chickens in the garage. Beth was usually always up before the others to start breakfast preparations, but this morning was different. Daryl was leaving and after she told them she was pregnant, the family decided that Beth did way too much and needed to start taking it easy.

Beth had made bread the day before and they were eating the leftovers, smeared with rose hip berry jam that Beth had made that winter, along with their fried eggs.

"Good morning," Rosita greeted them and then stood up, gently placing Aiden from her lap onto a blanket they had spread on the floor for him, to get them two more plates. "You guys hungry?"

"Yeah," Daryl grunted and headed towards the table, setting his bag on the floor and taking a seat next to Aaron. "You ready?" He asked the other man.

Aaron paused to swallow the bite of bread he was chewing. "All packed and I've been looking over the map. We should stop somewhere at the base of the mountain," he said. Daryl leaned back as a plate of food was placed in front of him and he didn't start eating yet. He kept looking to Aaron. "Some place should have pamphlets of the different mountain hiking trails."

Daryl nodded, not having even thought of something like that. Thank God Aaron had been the sort to climb mountains for fun before the end of the world.

"Do you think you'll find a goat?" Anna asked. She sat across the table and was sitting as still as possible as Rosita worked on braiding her hair into two pigtails.

"Don't know," Daryl shrugged, finally beginning to eat his breakfast. "Gotta go and at least try and find one."

His eyes went to Beth as she sat down on the other side of Anna and didn't say anything as she began eating her breakfast. She had had morning sickness for about a week now, but it was quickly learned that the morning sickness tended to hit her in the afternoon. But she still looked a little pale to him right now and he watched her as she ate, forgetting all about his own breakfast for the time being.

The back door opened and Spencer came in from the backyard, his hair still wet from the quick dip he had taken in the creek. "Herd's coming. Saw a few staggering through the trees, but could hear a lot more behind that," he stated calmly. "If you guys are going to leave today, you better leave now."

They all moved quickly after that. They were taking the pickup truck and they had packed it the night before with food and water, a tent, rope, and Beth was giving Daryl her plant book to take in case he found things growing up there that they needed that weren't growing down here.

"Don't let her go in the woods alone. She's gonna fight that, but I don't care," Daryl told Spencer in a low voice and Spencer nodded, promising with his eyes, and Daryl read it and nodded his head with a single nod. He then turned and crouched down in front of Anna. "And you watch out for Beth and help her as much as you can. Don't let her do too much."

"I won't," Anna promised and then the girl rushed forward, hugging him tightly. Daryl wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug in return and kissed her head.

Aaron and Daryl said their goodbyes, hugging everyone, taking turns holding Aiden and hugging the little guy, and as Aaron got into the truck and Spencer went to go down the driveway to open the gate, Daryl turned to Beth. She was trying her hardest not to cry, but he could see the moisture building in her eyes. Daryl didn't say anything. He had no idea what to say. He pulled Beth to him and hugged her tightly as she clung to him and he could feel the slight tremors shaking her body. He closed his own eyes and buried his nose in her hair.

"I love you," he whispered to her.

"I love you, too," she quaked in response. "Stupid hormones," she then mumbled.

He pulled his head back and kissed her – hard and long even though he knew he and Aaron had to hurry before the herd came and they would be shut in the house for however long it took them to stumble pass. He and Aaron had a plan and that included getting North to the mountains today.

Beth's face was wet with her tears, but she was still trying her hardest to stop crying. She clutched his arms as he kissed her one more time and then with all of his strength, Daryl stepped away from her and opened the driver's side door, sliding up behind the wheel.

"See you in five days," he told all of them, standing there, but his eyes resting on Beth. She was wiping at her cheeks and her nose and Rosita put an arm around her shoulders, hugging her into her side, and Daryl exhaled a deep breath, getting himself to look away and turn the key in the ignition.

As they passed, Spencer held up his hand in farewell and the only reason Daryl looked in the rearview mirror – he told himself – was to make sure Spencer shut and locked the gate once more behind them as Daryl drove down the cul-de-sac and headed out of the St. George subdivision, taking the road that would lead North.

…

Sometimes, he wished Merle could see him now. In his life, Merle had definitely had an opinion on just about everyone and gay men weren't spared his crude and damn-right down mean comments. And because Daryl hadn't known any better – or hadn't wanted to know – what his brother thought became his own thoughts.

But that had been then and this was now and one of his closest friends in this world – a part of his family – was a gay man. He never would have thought it, but it seemed like he and Aaron had a lot in common minus the people they were attracted to. They couldn't had grown up any different and had led any different of lives, but then the world ended and suddenly, everyone was on the same playing field – Aaron and Daryl maybe just a little bit further ahead than others. Daryl could track and hunt and survive out in the woods for as long as he had to and Aaron was used to dealing with less than forgiving people and terrain.

Daryl was glad he had him with him as they set out on this newest mission.

"That looks like a good spot," Aaron said, pointing ahead to a sign so faded, they couldn't read the town name anymore. But the mountains loomed ahead of them and Daryl took the turn.

The town was small and falling apart, but it didn't look any different from any other town out there nowadays. They had taken the back roads and had only passed a few fallen trees and stumbling walkers, but nothing else. It was completely quiet around them and Daryl was grateful for that. He had no idea what was waiting for them up there, but from what he could tell, there weren't any people around and that was what he really cared about.

He knew that if they did run into a person, they would probably underestimate Daryl and Aaron just on sight. Both had bathed within the past couple of days and they were clean and the clothes they wore were clean, too. And they definitely hadn't been starving over the past couple of years like a lot of others.

He parked the truck in front of what looked like had been a small-town general store and they got out, armed with their crossbow and machete and they took a moment to look around. Quiet. They divided the food and water between them and Aaron tied the tent roll to the bottom of his pack as Daryl packed away the rope. They then hefted their packs onto their backs and Daryl followed Aaron as the man headed towards the general store.

The two front windows were both broken and they peered inside. Much like so many other of the buildings, kudzu was starting to creep in, slowly covering everything, and what wasn't covered with the plant was left to fade away beneath dust and dirt and the other elements that got in.

Daryl climbed in through the window first, broken glass crunching beneath his feet, and with his crossbow raised and aimed, he did a quick scan of the room. Nothing. Aaron climbed in behind him and after a second of looking around, he saw a rusted turnstile at the counter were the cash register was and he went to it. As he looked over the different faded, dirty pamphlets on display, Daryl walked up and down the aisles of the store, which had been raided years ago. He did find a lone bag of banana chips though and they were probably shit, but Daryl took them with him anyway.

He met Aaron at the front of the store again. "Find what we need?" He asked.

"I think so," Aaron said, but he was frowning as he looked over the open pamphlet he had chosen in his hands as if he was trying to understand it and decide which path would be the best one to take. "I bet the trails are all overgrown anyway."

Daryl shrugged. "Le's go find out."

Aaron nodded and then held up something else he had found on the counter. When Daryl saw the stack of scratch-off lottery tickets, he felt himself smiling. "For Anna?" Aaron suggested and Daryl's smile grew a little wider.

"She'll love 'em," Daryl agreed.

After dropping the lottery tickets off back into the truck, Aaron led the way and Daryl followed, walking behind the general store and heading off into the trees.

…

Daryl had no idea how long they had been walking. The trees here had a thick canopy and it was hard to keep track of the sun, but he knew it had been a while and they had slowly been gaining elevation as they went. They were quiet as they walked, always on the lookout for anything around them. He saw so many different tracks and could just imagine how this mountain was teeming with animals. Depending on what happened over the next few days, he and Aaron would always have food – as long as Daryl kept his crossbow and his sharp eye, that was for sure.

No goat tracks though. Not that he could see, but this was just _one_ path on _one_ of the mountain ridges.

To find a goat, who the hell knew how far he and Aaron had to walk.

He couldn't stop his mind from wandering to thinking of Beth. He wondered what she was doing right now. He hoped she was taking a nap or at least taking it easy. But knowing Beth, she was probably in the woods, gathering plants, or in the vegetable garden, weeding, or in the kitchen, cooking, or at the creek, washing and doing laundry. That girl had no idea how to take it easy – even with everyone helping her now do everything.

At first, she had done it to show him that she wasn't a burden and that she could be useful. There had been a time when he had stupidly thought that she was useless. But then they had gotten drunk and fought and cried and talked with one another and their new-found bond was only solidified when they burned a house down together. After that, Daryl never thought a bad thing about Beth Greene again.

And then, he fell in love with her.

Now, she worked herself to the bone to take care of their family because without Beth, it would just be a house and they would just be living. She was the one who made it a home. They woke up smelling fresh corncakes in the morning because of her. Aiden had been born safely and Rosita had stayed alive because of her. Daryl could only hope that Spencer and Rosita and even Anna could get Beth to relax a little bit over the next five days until he got back home.

Because he _would_ get back home in five days – no matter what.

"Aaron," Daryl said the man's name softly, suddenly, when his eyes caught sight of something veering off from the path they were walking on.

Aaron immediately stopped and turned to go back to Daryl, who was crouching down, studying the tracks in front of him.

"Human. Not a walker. And… a dog, from the looks of it," Daryl decided, looking another moment before standing up, the crossbow swung back into his hands.

"What do you think?" Aaron asked.

Daryl stared down at the tracks for another moment. They were pretty fresh tracks, made just a couple hours earlier, if he had to make his best guess. He lifted his eyes and looked to the trees that stretched out before them as if whoever had made these tracks was standing right there, watching them.

He didn't want to purposely track down people – no way. If he could, he'd go the rest of whatever life he had left seeing no one except for those at their house, in the family. But Daryl looked down at the tracks – human and dog – and he felt a prick on the back of his neck. He never second-guessed his instincts and right now, they were telling him that they should follow.

Daryl looked from the tracks to Aaron. "Le's see where they go."

If Aaron thought it was a bad idea, he didn't say it and instead, he just nodded his head. He let Daryl take the first step and he followed behind, his machete at his side. Daryl was glad Aaron didn't ask him about it because he had no idea what he would say. He couldn't explain it. They were up here to try and find a goat. Not humans. But whatever was pricking him on the back of his neck told him to keep going and Daryl knew his instincts had not led him astray yet and he couldn't think they would now.

There was a reason he was following after these tracks. He just didn't know what that reason was yet. But he figured he would find out soon enough. There had to be a reason he was going this way. He didn't want to be around people and yet, he was walking right towards one. But this feeling… he couldn't shake it.

This was the way to go.

He knew Aaron was walking as quietly as he could, but Daryl could still hear him behind him. He just hoped that whoever they were following after didn't have that great of hearing and was detected to them coming up on their tracks.

His palms felt sweaty and his stomach was clenched in a constant knot. But he still kept on moving forward.

Only too late did he hear the low growl of an animal from behind them and Daryl froze completely when there was a familiar cock of a shotgun to his left. From the corner of his eye, he saw a man – probably in his sixties – with white hair and a scraggly white beard. It was cooler up here – and Daryl could imagine how much cooler it would get when the sun went down – and Aaron and Daryl were still in their tee-shirts and the man was wearing a jacket over a sweater. And the man was a holding a shotgun pointed right to Daryl's temple.

He heard the growling again and from the other corner of his eye, he saw a dog, poised low to the ground and showing its teeth as it focused on Aaron.

Daryl looked back to the man. He looked furious and Daryl wondered how long the man and the dog had been following them. Daryl had been following their tracks and they had still been going straight. How did they get behind them? And how didn't Daryl hear them? Was it because of Aaron? No. Aaron hadn't been walking _that_ loud. The man and dog were like damn ghosts because Daryl hadn't heard a damn thing.

Beth flashed across his mind right then with the shotgun still pointed to his head. He hoped she was taking a nap. He hoped she had let Rosita or Spencer cook dinner that night. He wondered how bad her morning sickness had been that afternoon.

 _If you're not back in five days, I'm coming to find you._

And he knew she would. Beth was stubborn and if he wasn't back, she'd come and do anything to find him. Daryl could only hope that the man shot him in the head because he couldn't imagine Beth coming up here and finding him as a walker, stumbling around. Beth was stronger than anyone ever gave her credit for so Daryl knew that she would stab him in the head if he was a walker, but that was the last thing he would ever want Beth to do.

He thought of their baby. Was it a boy or girl? Would he ever find out?

The man pushed the shotgun barrel right up against his temple and Daryl closed his eyes, ready for the shot at any second. He wondered if he would see Hershel and Merle again. He wondered what would happen with Beth and their baby.

"Now, you both get one chance to tell me what the fuck you're doing on my mountain."

…

* * *

 **Thank you very much for reading and please review.**


	10. Mountain

Work has been so crazy for me lately and I have been finding little time to write, but I was finally able to finish this one after working on it for a few days. I have gotten a few messages, saying that I have made things "too easy" for Beth and Daryl and things wouldn't be like this in the zombie world. I've actually had plans to make things a little less easy for them in the next upcoming chapters.

* * *

…

 **Chapter Ten.** Mountain.

She couldn't sleep so she offered to be on first shift of night duty. She knew that she had to get rest – she had been so tired throughout the day – but she didn't know how she would be able to get any sleep without Daryl next to her. Even when they had first gotten here three years earlier, they slept on the couches right next to each other. She didn't even know if she remembered how to fall asleep without him.

Beth slowly walked the fence – front yard and back yard – feeling the warm summer breeze blowing that night and there was a full moon, lighting up the night around her and making it far easier to see things. She saw the stumbles of a couple of walkers, but she wasn't alarmed as they caught whiff of her scent and began making their way towards her. Beth's fingers curled around the hilt of the knife in her hand though she knew she probably wouldn't have to use it. And sure enough, they walked right into the moat and fell into the pits that surrounded the fence.

With the help of the moon, Beth saw movement near the woods behind their house. It was the mama grizzly brown bear with her two cubs behind her that had been born that spring, out for a lazy midnight stroll in search of a midnight snack. Beth wondered where the papa grizzly bear was. As strange as it sounded, Beth and Daryl and the grizzlies had some sort of understanding between one another. Beth and Daryl had helped the male once when walkers were surrounding him and since then, it was almost like there was some sort of mutual respect between all of them. If the bears saw them out in the woods, they didn't bother them and they certainly didn't bother the bears. When they saw that cubs had been born, Anna had wanted to keep one as a pet, but that would certainly ruin the peace treaty between them so Daryl had found her a teddy bear to have instead.

Daryl. She wondered what he was doing this very second. Was it his turn on watch or was he sleeping as Aaron kept watch? Was he looking up at the moon right now just like she was? Five days. And tomorrow, it would be four before he came home. She had no idea what he and Aaron would find up there in the mountains.

She wanted to, but she had a hard time believing that they would be able to find a goat. She wanted it more than anything and she prayed for it, but she just didn't know how realistic it was anymore. Surely, if they hadn't died, others would have taken the goats for themselves. She found it impossible to believe that they were the only ones wanting and needing a goat in this new world.

They could easily live without the goat's milk Lucky produced for them if they weren't able to find a male goat, but… she thought of Anna and Aiden and hers and Daryl's own baby. And what if Rosita and Spencer had another baby? The things they could make with the milk and the children able to drink cups of milk every day… it was just something that was wanted to help carry on this world as much as they were able to.

Beth watched as the mama bear lumbered slowly into the trees and her cubs followed after her. She smiled faintly, watching them as they disappeared into the darkness, and her own hand slowly drifted down, resting over her still-flat abdomen, saying a silent hello to her baby within.

She certainly had never planned on having a baby of her own. She loved Anna and Aiden, but – and she knew it was the same for Daryl – thoughts of Lori always hovered in the back of her mind when she thought of pregnancies and babies in this new, unforgiving world. And when she had been able to conclude that she was, in fact, pregnant, she had been shocked and terrified, but beneath all of that, she had been happy. Honestly and truly happy. She had always wanted to be a mother, but had never expected she would get the chance to be to a baby who was actually hers.

She and Daryl were going to have a baby and just thinking that, she smiled.

The house was getting cramped, but they would make it work. They always did. The fence was good and strong and their garden was large and prosperous. They had talked about clearing the house next door and expanding their fences, but Daryl and Beth had been hesitant even though it would give them more room. They had learned that too much room was harder to keep under control. They'd much rather all be living on top of one another, safe.

She stepped away from the back fence and began walking along the side, heading the check on the front of the house once again, but she stopped in her tracks when she heard it. Squeal of tires and they were getting closer. No, no. Who was speeding towards the house like that? She took off running just as Spencer burst from the house, having heard the sound, too. On the driveway, they stood and saw the pickup truck tearing up the street and turning in the cul-de-sac, tires screaming against the pavement. Spencer ran down to the end of the driveway, to unlock the gate, and Beth nearly collapsed to her knees when she saw.

Through the windshield, she could only see Aaron.

…

Beth's hands were shaking so badly, Rosita had to help her.

Aaron had told them all everything and sometime later, Beth repeated the story over and over in her head. There was a man who lived up there, who was now holding Daryl hostage until Aaron returned. Daryl had promised the man food if they could both leave, but the man hadn't trusted them to keep their word and was keeping Daryl as collateral. The man had claimed the mountain as his own and he'd do anything to keep himself safe.

Daryl had told the man that his wife made peach pie.

"Bullshit," the man had growled. "Bring some back to me."

With the fresh peaches they had picked earlier the day before, Beth rolled the dough and Rosita cut the peaches up for her since with her shaky hands, they were worried that Beth would cut herself.

"What else should we take him?" Spencer asked, both doors to the refrigerator and freezer open, looking over their supplies. Since the unit obviously didn't work, they had cleaned it out and got rid of the smell and now used it for storage since it was sitting in the kitchen, otherwise useless.

"Bread?" Anna suggested.

"No," Beth immediately shook her head. "We don't have the time. Anna, go downstairs and get ten boxes of pasta to take to the man," she said and Anna nodded, running off with her task.

Her heart felt as if it was beating so fast, it was actually trying to race away from her. Her eyes welled with tears, but she refused to let herself break down. Daryl didn't need her to break down. None of them needed it. Daryl was fine. Yes, some crazy mountain man was holding her husband hostage right now and he might very well shoot him if he tastes the pie and hates it, but despite that possibility, there was also the possibility that Daryl was going to be fine. No one left in this world was as strong and capable as her husband.

Once the pie was placed on the rack over the flames of the fireplace, Beth spun towards Aaron. "What else do you think he wants?" She asked.

And Aaron did the worst thing in that moment by shaking his head. "I don't know-"

"Aaron!" Beth couldn't help but snap at him. "What else do you think he wants?"

Aaron visibly swallowed and he looked so guilty for what had happened, Beth stepped forward and took one of his hands in one of hers, giving it a squeeze. Aaron squeezed it back and for a moment, they were quiet, holding on. Beth blinked quickly because she could feel the tears building once more and she refused to cry.

"What about your corn cakes?" Aaron suggested.

Beth sniffled and nodded quickly. "Okay."

She turned back towards the kitchen to see that Spencer was already reaching into the pantry for the container of already-ground up corn and Beth couldn't help it. With all of them helping her, all of them doing anything they could to get Daryl back because they were all family and they would die keeping one another safe, Beth couldn't help it.

She burst into tears and her body raked with sobs as Rosita and Aaron both hugged her. "I'm okay. I'm okay," she kept saying over and over again, but who would believe her as she seemed unable to stop her crying? Who could blame her for being so scared?

Daryl was fine. Daryl was going to be fine. She knew that. She truly believed that. But still, just the idea of Daryl being held somewhere by some possibly less-than-stable man, who could blame her for being upset? Three years and they hadn't been separated in all of that time. The prison fell and they ran and despite some bumps in the road early on between them, they were all they had left and eventually, they each began holding onto that thought. They were the only family either of them had left and in realizing that, they became closer to one another than Beth would ever think possible.

When they had all first shown up on her daddy's farm all those years ago, Daryl in front on that loud motorcycle of his, Beth had been sixteen and slightly frightened. She had never looked at the dirty, angry man and had thought – not even for a second – that this man, someday, would become her husband and her family.

But he was all of those things now – and so much more – and what the hell did he expect Beth to do without him?

He always said that she was the one who held the family together, but that was bullshit. He was the one who held _her_ together.

After everything was cooked, there was absolutely no discussion about it. Beth would be going with Aaron back the four hours to the mountain and then to the man who was holding Daryl. Daryl would probably be mad that she came, but Beth didn't care. He could just be as mad as he wanted. She was going and no one was going to even think about stopping her.

They had a couple of guns that they had found over the years, but they never used them. Bullets wouldn't last forever and knives and crossbows and machetes were far more quiet than a gun anyway. They kept them up in the loft in the garage and before they left again, Spencer climbed up there now, coming back down with the handgun. He handed it to Aaron.

"Just in case," he said and Aaron nodded, taking it, slipping it onto the truck's seat.

In the truck, Aaron drove and Beth sat across the bench seat, the peach pie sitting on her lap, her fingers clutching the dish. She didn't say anything. There was no reason to talk. She and Aaron were going to get Daryl back no matter what they had to do. Leaving that mountain without him again wasn't even a possibility.

…

Beth followed Aaron up the path he and Daryl had taken just that yesterday morning. They still didn't speak and Aaron would often look over his shoulder to make sure that she was handling the climb well, but he didn't ask her anything. He certainly wasn't stupid enough to ask her if she wanted to take a break.

It was cooler up here, walking mostly in the shade, and before they had left the truck below, Beth had tugged on a long sleeve tee-shirt. The sky had just been turning pink with dawn when they reached the mountains and now, she could see the filter on the risen sunlight through the trees.

When Aaron stopped at a seemingly random spot, Beth frowned and went to him.

"What's wrong?" She asked in a hushed voice, not wanting to make more noise than they had to. Not only was some man on this mountain, holding her husband hostage, but there could also be walkers and wild animals all around them and she didn't want to draw any of their attention.

"We're going to wait here for him," Aaron informed her.

Beth frowned at that. "Wait?" She asked, her brow furrowing at that.

"I don't know where he came from the first time," Aaron said as his eyes swept across the trees that surrounded them, on the lookout. "He snuck up on me and Daryl. Caught us both completely by surprise. If we wait here, he'll find us."

Beth felt a chill rake down her spine at that. Someone had snuck up on Daryl?

She edged a little closer to Aaron and did as he did. She looked and she waited.

How far away was Daryl from her right now? Where had the man put him? Was he hurt? She needed to see him and have him back at her side and once she got him back there, she would make sure he never left it again.

"You the wife?"

Beth hated that she jumped a little in fright, but the voice had come out of nowhere and had absolutely scared the crap out of her.

She and Aaron both spun around to see the man standing behind them. A shotgun was in his arms, but it was being held, relaxed. He was studying her and Beth took the opportunity to study him in return. She was putting him either in his late fifties or early sixties. It was so hard to judge a person's age anymore these days. People aged so much faster now and with good reason. He had white hair buzzed close to his head and a matching somewhat scraggly white beard and he wore dirty blue jeans and a black pullover sweater.

"I am," Beth finally answered his question. "Where's Daryl?"

"You bring that peach pie?" He asked.

Beth hesitated, not sure if she wanted to show it to him before she saw Daryl, but she decided that she could at least show him. She wouldn't give it to him until she was assured that Daryl was safe though.

The pie was in a plastic round container and Beth took one step towards him, prying back the lid. The man stared down at it for a few moments, not moving; possibly not even breathing.

"Well, I'll be," he murmured, his eyes never removing from the pie in front of him.

"I only bake them in the summer," Beth told him for some reason. "We have peach trees near our house and we can a lot during the winter, but the pie never tastes as good as it does with fresh peaches."

The man nodded as if he completely agreed.

"I made you a couple more things, but first, I want to see Daryl," Beth said in what she hope was a firm tone.

The man didn't argue or try to linger. He smacked his lips together with one more glance at the pie and he then turned, not waiting to see if Beth and Aaron were following him as he began to strode through the trees. Of course they were following after him. Beth followed after him and Aaron walked behind her and she tried to study and memorize the woods around them as Daryl had taught her to do, but the woods were too thick and every tree they passed looked just as the one next to it.

She did note though how absolutely beautiful it was up here. She and her family had driven past the Blue Mountain Ridge before, but she had never been within it. It was quiet and peaceful and it reminded her of where they now lived. A person could almost forget that the entire world had ended. _Almost_.

The cabin was built between trees, the structure unlike any cabin she had seen before as it looked as if it was growing around the trees rather than the person clearing the trees in a space to build the cabin. It looked as if the person who had built it had wanted to cut down as few trees as possible. There was no fence, but Beth saw that all around the house, there were strings with cans tied to the bottom of the trees. That was how she and Daryl defended their camp when they had had no other form of shelter or fence.

"Wow," Beth heard herself say.

"Thank 'ya," the man said, having overheard.

"Did you build this?" She asked as they carefully stepped over the strings.

"Great granddaddy did when he came over here from Scotland. Family's been livin' here ever since. 'course, now it's jus' me." She expected to go straight into the house, but instead, the man led them around the side, towards the back. "Your man's here."

Behind the house, Beth saw a smaller building – what had to be a barn – and a cleared patch of yard was attached. This yard had a fence built around it. There were two doors on the back of the house and just a couple of feet outside one of the doors, Beth recognized the familiar structure of an outhouse.

Both doors to the barn were open and the man unlatched the gate, letting them step into the yard. Beth didn't see anything other than Daryl. He was right inside the doors, petting something, but she didn't see that either. She just saw him. Her eyes quickly decided that he hadn't been hurt at all and without hesitating, she pushed the container of peach pie into the man's hands and she went running.

Daryl had just enough time to turn towards her and spread his arms before Beth had barreled into him. Her arms were thrown around his neck and she hugged him as tightly as he could; fairly certain that she might possibly never let him go again.

"'m alright, Beth. 'm alright," Daryl murmured to her with his hands rubbing up and down her back and though she could clearly see that for herself, she couldn't let him go. She clenched her eyes shut so she didn't start crying again.

"Mmmmm. You weren't kiddin, Daryl," the man said, his words mumbled, and Beth could easily hear him noisily help himself to the peach pie with his hands.

Beth finally released the grip around his neck, but she kept herself close. She tucked herself into his side and Daryl kept his arm strongly around her.

"Thanks for payin' the ransom," Daryl said, smirking a little towards Aaron.

"Beth's made him a few more things," Aaron said and stepped towards him. "Thank God you're alright," he then said soft enough for only Beth and Daryl to hear.

"He's crazy, but he ain't a bad guy," Daryl told them both and they believed him because one of Daryl's strengths was reading people; able to figure out what kind of person someone was after just a few minutes after meeting them.

Beth felt herself relax – but not by much.

"I was so scared," she confessed in a whisper.

Daryl didn't say anything to that. He just kissed the side of her head.

She felt something nudge the back of her calf and for a moment, Beth had thought it was the man's dog – Aaron had told her that the man had one – but when she glanced over her shoulder, she let out a sharp gasp and nearly fell over from turning around so quickly.

She had been so distracted with seeing Daryl again and seeing that he wasn't hurt, she hadn't even looked into the barn. And now she questioned how she could have been so blind – both to the sight, smell and noise. Animals. _Farm_ animals. Was she hallucinating? She hadn't seen such a sight since her own childhood farm. And now, she and her family had a goat and a few chickens, but this man had a barn full.

She stared for a moment, her eyes wide and mouth open, and then looked up to Daryl, as if he somehow would have an explanation for all of this. Aaron was giving him nearly the exact same expression and Daryl's lips smiled at little at them both.

"Yep. Had 'em 'fore the turn. Had to kill quite a few people to keep what was mine," the man said, coming up on the other side of Beth, looking at the animals as he sucked peach pie from his fingers.

The man had chickens, as well, and a beautiful dark brown horse along with a few sheep and goats. _Goats_. The man had goats. Beth felt her knees begin to grow weak beneath her and if Daryl could feel her strength leaving her, he tightened his arm around her, keeping her on her feet.

"You mind if I take her inside?" Daryl asked the man and Beth realized she still didn't know what his name was.

"Yeah. We got a trade to discuss," the man said and led the way from the barn to the back door of the house. Daryl's arm remained around the entire time they walked and Beth was grateful for that, because now her head was beginning to feel light.

The back door opened up into the kitchen and Beth looked around the house. The kitchen and living room was all one large room with a wood-burning stove in the middle of it. There was a ladder then went up to a loft and there were two doors off to the side of the room – both open, revealing two bedrooms. She saw the second back door that led to the outhouse. It was cramped and packed with stuff and yet, the entire thing was spotless as if this mountain man was also a clean freak.

"Sit her on the couch," the man ordered and Daryl led her over the over-stuffed couch in the living room underneath the front window covered with an old crocheted blanket.

Beth was grateful to be off her feet and she wondered if just seeing the animals and being in this strange cabin with this strange man had made her feel light-headed. She closed her eyes as the room spun around her and she felt Daryl sit down next to her. She did her best to open her eyes and she gave him a tired smile; one Daryl didn't return as he was looking at her with concern clear all over his face.

"Mornin' sickness?" He asked even though they knew it usually hit her in the afternoon.

She shook her head – something she instantly regretted. "Too early still." Her eyes slid shut again. Getting no sleep the night before and climbing up a mountain had certainly made her feel completely drained.

The man had a water pump at his sink in the kitchen and he pushed the lever a couple of times, filling two tin cups with clear water. He handed one to Aaron and then he then brought it to them, holding it out, and Daryl took it.

"What's your name?" Beth asked softly, opening her eyes to look up at the man.

"Mulligan," the man answered as Daryl brought the cup to her lips. She took a sip.

"As in stew?" She asked with a light tease in her tone and she took another sip as the man smiled and then, before she could stop herself, her eyes slid shut and she felt herself drifting off to sleep.

" _…_ _pregnant…_ " she heard Daryl's voice as she slipped away.

" _…_ _hell of a thing to be…_ " was Mulligan's response.

And then she heard nothing past that.

…

When she woke up again, the first thing Beth realized was that she was warm. Toasty. Her eyes fluttered open and she found herself to be in a bed, covered with quilts, and it took her another minute to remember that she was inside Mulligan's cabin somewhere in the Blue Mountain Ridge. She laid there, looking out the window of the bedroom she had been placed into. It was dusk and she could hear the distant howl of a wolf.

Laying there for a moment, she could hear a murmur of voices coming through the open door from the living room/kitchen area. Daryl, Aaron and Mulligan were all talking and it sounded as if they were eating as they did so. She could hear them and yet, her brain was still waking up and she couldn't pick up on their conversation.

Feeling a slight jump on the mattress, Beth turned her head and smiled when she saw that it was Mulligan's dog. He was panting, his tongue hanging out to look as if he was smiling, and Beth smiled in return, lifting her hand to scratch him behind his pointed ear. He looked more like wolf than dog, but he seemed sweet and Beth could just imagine Anna's enthusiasm at the chance to meet him.

Finally feeling more like herself, Beth began to slowly sit up. The room didn't spin and her head didn't feel light. A nap was exactly what she needed and knowing that Daryl was safe and right outside in the other room, she felt completely fine.

The dog jumped down and Beth pulled herself from the bed and followed him out.

Daryl, Aaron and Mulligan were all sitting at the table, drinking something from tin cups and helping themselves to the corn cakes with lavender and honey she had made as part of Daryl's ransom. They all looked up as soon as they saw her standing in the doorway, watching her, and she gave them all a smile.

Mulligan held up the corn cake he was eating. "'ve been talkin' with your husband and friend here. You guys bring me some of these corn cakes every few weeks, any animal out there in the barn you wan', it's yours."

A moment ago, Beth had been feeling perfectly fine, but now, after hearing that, her hand went to brace against the door-frame, doing her best to steady the slipping floor beneath her. Daryl got up and went to her, and she saw that he was smiling as he put his arms around her, and Aaron was smiling, almost laughing, and Beth buried her face in her shirt as she wrapped her arms around Daryl, laughing, too.

…

* * *

 **Thank you for reading and please let me know that you are still enjoying this universe. Thank you.**


	11. Storm

My muse is really with this story right now.

* * *

…

 **Chapter Eleven.** Storm.

Daryl stood in the backyard, staring up at the sky, not moving. He had been out there for some time now, taking note of the wind and the direction it was blowing from and the near-eerie yellowish shade of the sky. Anna had seen him standing there when she had woken up and had come outside to use the outside and when she came back out again, she saw him still standing there. She went to go stand at his side. She looked up at him and then followed his eyes to the sky.

"It looks weird," Anna commented, referring to the sky. The yellow looked as if it was slowly taking on a green hue now.

"Yeah," Daryl answered, softly and shortly, his eyes never moving away from it. "Do me a favor. Go back inside and tell everyone we're havin' a meetin'."

Anna didn't ask any questions. If Daryl was calling a meeting, it was not to be questioned. He gave her a job to do and the little girl ran off to go do what he wanted. Daryl stood out for a few minutes more, his frown growing deeper as he smelled the change in the air. This was going to be a bad one.

He turned and went inside to see that Anna had gathered everyone and they were all now in the family room, waiting for him. They all looked at him as he came in and remained silent.

"Beth and Aaron, get those buckets from the garage and start transplantin' some of the plants from the garden we need," he said. "The corn and tomatoes and potatoes and anythin' else. Your lavender, too."

Beth and Aaron nodded.

"Spencer, get the chickens and goats down in the basement, but, uh, make sure the goats go to the bathroom first."

Spencer nodded.

"Anna, start carryin' everythin' in the pantry and cabinets down to the basement," Daryl continued. "And everyone else, when you finish what you're doin', you help her. We gotta make sure our kitchen is clear."

Everyone nodded.

"Rosita, I wan' you to get the herbs in the livin' room and all of your sewin' stuff and the books, quilts and candles from the rooms and records and take it all in the basement and then make sure that anythin' that can be ruined in water is up off the floor."

Rosita nodded.

"You think we're going to get flooded?" Beth asked, her voice quiet and her eyes slightly widened with worry.

Daryl didn't answer right away. His eyes drifted out the window for a second – seeing the tone of the sky – before looking back to the others. "I think we're not goin' to have a good day," was all he said.

They all got to work after that. They all began seeing to their tasks that Daryl had assigned to them and Daryl went out to the garage to collect the gas cans and the tools they had found and collected over the years. He didn't know how much time they had or when the storm was going to hit, but he did know that it was going to be a bad one. They had had a few storms over the past few years, but there was something in the air about this one. Daryl wanted them to be as prepared as possible and save as much as they could because they had built this house to what it was today and if anything happened, he didn't know if they would be able to rebuild, replace and repair everything that was ruined.

In the back of his mind, he doubted it.

After he cleared everything out of the garage and Spencer had gotten their animals down into the basement, they carried the corn sheller and corn grinder down the steps into the basement as carefully as they could. Rosita was down there, making room for everything because with all of their supplies from the kitchen being brought down and Beth and Aaron bringing buckets with their plants down with everything else, it was becoming nearly packed to the brim.

The rain began falling just as they were finishing – light, but cold and growing heavier with each passing second, and with it, it brought rolls of thunder and crashes of lightning. The goats let out nervous bleats and Aiden began to cry. It sounded so loud; as if the storm had broken out directly over their house. Boards had already been nailed over all of their windows yeas earlier so once everything they wanted in the basement was down there, they went downstairs as well and Daryl closed the door firmly behind him before following them down the stairs.

The wind howled and it felt as if the house was actually shaking. Rosita had kept the bed clear so they could all sit on it since there was no room anywhere else for them, and they all piled onto the bed now, except for Daryl, who stood at the bottom of the stairs, looking up at the door.

He didn't know how long this would last and he would often look over to his family. The other adults were trying not to appear nervous or scared – especially because Aiden was still crying, Rosita doing her best to comfort him, and Anna was whimpering every time a crash of lightning exploded over their heads. Beth wrapped her arms around the little girl and held her close and was murmuring words in her ear while wiping at her wet cheeks.

Daryl didn't know how long the storm lasted. To be honest, to him, it felt like it lasted forever. He stood, still and stiff, at the bottom of the stairs, staring up at the door, his fingers clenching the crossbow in his hands. They had never had a storm this bad. This sounded like a fucking mixture of a hurricane and a tornado and Daryl could only imagine what damage the storm was doing up there.

The goats were pacing nervously, bleating, anxious and scared, and Aaron leaned into Anna, whispering something in her ear. The girl sniffled and nodded and Daryl watched as she got off the bed, going to their two goats – their female, Lucky, and their male, George, which they had gotten from the mountain-man, Mulligan, and which Anna had named. Anna loved the goats and the goats seemed to love her and she went to them now. She did her best to calm them down now and also, it was hoped that the task would distract her as well from the storm outside.

"Sounds like it might be getting worse," Beth said, suddenly standing beside him.

Daryl moved his eyes from the door to look at her. She looked worried and sad and Daryl gave her a nod because there was no reason to deny it when they could all hear. She looked up at him, waiting for him to say something, but honestly, Daryl had no idea what to say right now. What could be said? It wasn't as if he could do anything about the storm. And it wasn't as if he could do anything while it was storming. All he could to was rub a hand on her back.

And then, as if someone had hit a mute button, everything went completely silent.

Well, at least outside, it was silent. Aiden was still crying and Rosita was still trying to shush him, but then, as he registered that the storm had stopped, the baby's cries began to subside as well. They all went still as they listened, but there was nothing to hear. Daryl then looked to Beth and the rest of them.

"Stay down here," he ordered them. "Stay," he then said in a softer voice to her and she took his place at the bottom of the stairs as he slowly ascended. He felt her eyes on his back and he was very aware of his heartbeat pounding in his ears.

Slowly, he opened the basement door, listening to the quiet creak the hinges made. He looked out the back patio door that they had shoved the kitchen table against. His stomach dropped to his feet when he saw the cherry tree in the corner of the yard and the back fence had been both knocked down. The rain had stopped, but the sky still had that greenish hue and everything was still so still and silent.

He closed the door behind him once again and headed back down the stairs, everyone looking at him for an answer. He just shook his head.

"Think 's the eye or somethin'," he said, remember having heard about eyes of hurricanes on the weather channel once and he figured that this is what this storm was. "Gotta keep stayin' down here." He looked to Beth and swallowed a sudden dryness in his throat. "Fence is down," he said.

Beth gasped and a hand flew to her mouth.

Aaron stood up from the bed. "How bad?" He asked.

Daryl shook his head. "Couldn' get a good look at it, but it's down. Other sides will prob'ly follow."

It wasn't something he could keep to himself, he knew that, but he still wished he could have kept it from them. Without a fence, they had absolutely no protection. He didn't know if it would be able to be rebuilt, but his mind was already racing with where they could go once the storm was gone. He didn't know if they could stay here anymore and he lowered his eyes, studying the floor so he wouldn't have to look at any of them right then. With the fence down, they were sitting there with their asses hanging out and having a fence these days was the most important thing to have.

The wind and rain began – pounding and howling – and Aiden's cries began again.

Daryl lifted his eyes enough to look at Beth. She was pregnant. They were having a baby. And the reason they had been somewhat alright with that happening – almost happy about that – was because they both had thought that as long as they were here, they were safe. But now, Daryl had no idea if they could keep being here. The storm wasn't done yet and who knew how much more damage it would bring down.

And it seemed as if someone decided to answer his question for him because just minutes later, there was a deafening crash from above their heads and Anna screamed. Daryl didn't have to see to know that the storm had just ripped the house's roof off.

…

The rain had stopped sometime in the late afternoon though the sun didn't come out. They could only guess the time. They were silent as they went up the stairs to look at the damage. Daryl had been right. Half of their roof was gone and the entire fence surrounding their backyard was in shards. The moats were flooded with water, beginning to slowly flood the grass. A couple of walkers were stumbling nearby and Daryl shot them with arrows before they could get close.

Beth looked at the damage. Gone. It was all gone. The outhouse had been ripped apart and the bucket within had been picked up and flung somewhere else. Inside the house, a tree branch had fallen through the back door and glass and rain soaked the table and floor. Everyone was quiet as they looked and took it all in.

Beth felt tears stinging her eyes. She and Daryl had found this house three years before and for three years, it had been their home. And it had been such a good home and they hadn't lost it to walkers or to other humans. But to Mother Nature. Beth knew there was nothing they could have done differently. They couldn't stop the weather and she knew that they had done everything they could have done.

But she had woken up this morning in hers and Daryl's bedroom, in their bed, beneath a quilt with a roof over her head and she had gone into kitchen to make breakfast, but Anna had come in then and said that Daryl wanted to have a meeting.

Her stomach let out a little grumble at the thought and Beth realized that none of them – except Aiden – had eaten since dinner the night before.

"Anna," Beth said the girl's name quietly. "Come and help me."

Anna didn't ask what the task was. She just nodded and walked from her bedroom, everything soaked with rain; nothing salvageable; nearly everything she needed being in the basement anyway.

Downstairs, the goats were gone, having taken outside, but the chickens remained. Beth went to plastic container where they kept the cracked corn for the chickens and without having to be told, Anna took it from her and went to go feed the animals. Beth then looked to the shelves that held all of their food. She didn't know if anyone was hungry, but they needed to eat. There was no reason to starve if they didn't have to. But since she didn't have a taste for anything, she couldn't decide what they should eat.

In the end, she grabbed a container of cinnamon tree bark that she had prepared and granola bars from one of the boxes they had taken from the extreme couponer's stash when they had found it.

Anna followed Beth up the stairs and they found the others in the backyard, surveying the damage. Her garden was flooded and destroyed, the fence was destroyed and there were random bits and pieces from one thing or another that had been whipped up in the wind and had been carried and dropped here.

Just like that, after three years here, it was all gone.

They stood there, eating granola bars and barks, all too lost in their own thoughts to say anything. There really wasn't anything to eat.

"Start packin'," Daryl then said and everyone looked at him and he looked back at them. "We can't stay here and we ain't goin' to. Start packin' up the truck and the Buick. This is how I wan' it to go. Aaron, Anna and Beth in the Buick with the goats in the back. Fill every inch of that trunk up with the food. We'll fill the bins up, too, and tie 'em to the roof.

"In the truck, 's me, Spencer, Rosita and Aiden. We're gonna pack the chickens in the bed first and then the grinder and sheller and then every single other thing we can."

Thank God for Daryl, Beth thought. Her mind wasn't thinking enough to even register the taste of what she was eating, let alone figure out an entire plan for them.

"Where are we going to go?" Spencer was the one to ask.

Beth wasn't at all surprised with Daryl's answer.

"Blue Ridge Mountains."

…

Thank God their vehicles had escaped the storm, undamaged. Beth had no idea what they would do if they hadn't.

It took them another hour to pack everything up, taking every single thing with them that they could. Spencer and Daryl tightly tied bins to the roof of the Buick with rope from their supplies and Beth had a lingering thought of going to cut down a Christmas tree and daddy and Shawn tying it to the roof of their car. She hadn't thought of anything like that in so long, it nearly startled her.

"No matter what happens," Daryl was saying to Aaron. "You stay behind me." Daryl then said something to him, too low for Beth to hear, but she knew that Daryl was probably saying something to Aaron about her.

Beth stood in the driveway, looking to the house. Their home. And she wasn't even going to blame the baby hormones on the tears that filled her eyes. She had already had so many daydreams of their baby, tucked against her chest as she gardened, and walking barefoot with the baby as they learned to walk in the grass and teaching them everything she knew about plants and flowers and the woods. She had been so happy – more happy than scared – on having a baby because she had stupidly thought that as long as they had a baby here, they would all be safe.

She felt Daryl's lips in her hair and she closed her eyes, exhaling a shaky breath. She leaned into him, her arms slipping around his waist, and she hugged him tightly.

"We gotta get goin'," he murmured to her and she nodded though she didn't move.

She wasn't ready to go yet and never see this house again. She closed her eyes and buried her face in his chest, but she didn't cry. She was honestly surprised she didn't. She thought of their baby slowly growing inside of her. What were they going to do? They couldn't be on the move like Lori had been while pregnant with Judith. They couldn't. They had to find another place. Going towards the mountains was as good a place as any. They _could_ go see those from their first family, but in her mind, Spencer, Rosita and Aaron had left for a very good reason and Beth felt that maybe, going back to their first family was putting themselves in even more danger.

"We're gonna go talk with Mulligan," Daryl said, reading her mind. "We'll figure it out, Beth. You and me, we always do."

Beth nodded. She couldn't argue with fact.

Anna shared the front passenger seat with Beth and Aaron drove. Lucky and George seemed fine with being in a car, both laying down in the back seat and going to sleep after having a just-as-stressful day as the rest of them. Rosita was sitting between Daryl and Spencer on the bench seat of the pickup truck, Aiden sitting in her lap. Daryl and Aaron looked at one another and Aaron gave him a nod. Daryl then looked at Beth and she tried so hard to give him a little smile, but she didn't know if she succeeded in forming one or not.

Daryl pulled from the cul-de-sac and Aaron followed behind. Beth used all of her strength to not look at the house behind them one more time. As they drove past the St. George sign at the subdivision's entrance, Beth felt tears building in her eyes and she closed them so she wouldn't cry in front of Aaron and Anna and she rested her head against the window.

She didn't expect to, but within minutes, she fell asleep.

…

The drive North took much longer, evidence of the storm following with them the entire way. At one point, they had to stop and with Anna holding Aiden, the rest pushed a fallen tree from off the road. When they finally reached the base of the mountain, next to the general store that Daryl and Aaron had first come across, Beth couldn't help but sigh with relief. They weren't there yet, but for the moment, they had made it far enough.

Parking in front of the what once had been a general store, everyone got out to stretch their legs and George and Lucky were let out to do the same. They didn't wander too far to go to the bathroom. Beth found the bin with the toilet paper for the girls and they took turns, going behind a tree.

By now, it was completely dark and judging by the position of the moon, Daryl figured it was probably around one.

"I'm gonna go up and talk with Mulligan. See if he minds if we crash with 'im for a couple of days 'fore we head out and find a new place," Daryl said. "If he don't wan' us to, we're just gonna stay here, in the store. Should be good enough for how long we're stayin' here."

Everyone was too tired to say anything, but they all nodded their heads.

"I'll come with you," Beth spoke up.

"Nah, Beth," Daryl immediately shot down – not to her surprise. "You're gonna stay here and rest up."

Beth ignored him and found her pack in the back of the pickup and went to the Buick, beginning to fill it with some food to take with them and a bottle of water.

"Be careful," Rosita said to her, handing her a sweater to take with her, and Beth nodded before they embraced in a quick, tight hug. She then hugged, Anna, Aaron and Spencer, gave Aiden, sleeping in his basket, a kiss on his head and she then swung the pack onto her back.

She looked to Daryl, silently daring him to argue with her, and he stared back for a moment before he made the wise decision in just sighing heavily, but saying nothing. With his crossbow, he handed her the solar-charged lantern and with one more look over her shoulder at their family, she followed Daryl into the trees.

They didn't talk with one another for a while. Daryl, every so often, would look over his shoulder, back at her, but she was keeping pace fine. She was tired, yes, but he was out of his mind if he thought she would let him go up this mountain without her. She had already done that once and though, now she knew Mulligan was harmless, she hadn't known that at the time. All she had known was that some crazy mountain man had her husband hostage and was demanding a peach pie for his release.

"What are we going to do, Daryl?" She asked, breaking the silence, surprising him.

He stopped and turned to look at her. The lantern created a haunting blue light around them. He didn't say anything; just waited for her to continue.

"All of our crops… we've saved some, but it's too late in the season to plant again and I don't know how the soil is around here and what if we don't have enough food?"

Daryl was quiet. He had spent the entire day, telling them plans and what to do, and she waited, letting him think it over before giving her a response.

"We'll figure it out, Beth," he finally said.

And she needed more. She needed to know exactly how they would be fine, but she knew Daryl couldn't give her that answer. He didn't know any more than she did.

She swallowed and nodded and Daryl slipped a hand to the back of her neck and pressed his lips to her forehead in a kiss.

"What you two doin' out here?"

Beth jumped and Daryl turned to see Mulligan, standing in the shadows, his shotgun in his hands, Mulligan's wolf-dog, Mick, at his side, his tail wagging upon seeing that the intruders on their mountain that night was them.

"Stop doing that, Mulligan," Beth frowned at him.

The man paused a moment and then broke into a smile.

Daryl turned towards him. "We need a favor. Was hopin' you could help us out."

"There was such an awful storm-" Beth began.

"Yep. Had a bit of rain and wind, but figured it was worse down below," Mulligan said. He looked them over and then looked behind them to see if there was anyone else. He looked back to him. "Where are your others?" He asked.

"Kept 'em down at the base. Didn' know if you would let us up," Daryl said.

"We won't stay long," Beth was quick to add. "We just need a safe place for a couple of days so we can think of what to do next."

"How many of you are there?" Mulligan asked.

"Five adults, one kid and a baby," Daryl answered. "Then we got our goats and chickens. If you don't wan' us, we're gonna stay in that general store."

That made Mulligan frown. He then looked to Beth.

"You got the stuff to make corn cakes?" He asked her.

Beth nodded. "I'll make you some honey ones tomorrow," she promised.

Mulligan didn't even think about it for a second after that. "Le's go get your cars, your people and get you up here and settled for the night."

…

* * *

 **Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to leave a review!**


	12. Breakdown

**I honestly feel guilty for updating this story because I've been getting comments and messages, begging me to update other things, but my muse is with this one and I just love this story so much. I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

 **Also, I got a little promotion at work and I'm going to be getting a lot busier during the day so please be patient with me between updates. Thank you!**

* * *

…

 **Chapter Twelve.** Breakdown.

As promised, after getting some sleep, Beth made corn cakes for breakfast. And as she was getting them prepared, Mulligan went out to the barn to feed the animals and Anna – shy around the stranger – asked if she could help. As Beth suspected, Anna fell in love with Mick, the wolf-dog at first sight, and she was eager to see the other animals that the man had.

"Course you can. Can't have you bein' useless," was Mulligan's reply.

Anna looked to the others in her family and they could all see that she was a little nervous. Daryl, Aaron and Beth all seemed to trust this man enough for them to come here after losing their house, but he was still very much a stranger. Sensing it, Rosita handed Aiden to Spencer as she stood up.

"I'll come, too," Rosita said before any of the others could and Anna smiled.

They walked from the kitchen, out the back door, closing it behind them, and they followed Mulligan to the barn. The others remained in the kitchen, where they had been since waking just a little bit ago. Despite the trying day they had had the day before – Beth could hardly believe that it had just been only yesterday – and not getting here until the middle of the night, they all had slept just a few hours before they were all awake again. Beth supposed it was adrenaline and uncertainty of what to do with themselves next.

She loved Mulligan's cabin. Everything was made from wood – including most of the furniture and even though it had been built nearly one-hundred years ago, in what some would consider the backwoods of this country, it was surprisingly spacious enough and in addition to the wood-burning stove in the open space between the kitchen and living room, each bedroom had a small fireplace, too. If everything was lit at once, she could imagine that Mulligan never got cold up here in the winter with the snow falling.

There was a stream next to the house, which it pulled water from, and Mulligan had a hand pump in the kitchen sink, one in the bathroom and one right outside the back door. Beth quickly fell in love with not have to go to one of the rain barrels or having to leave the yard to go to the creek in the woods to fill up a bucket of water.

She stood at the stove, cooking the first batch of corn cakes in the iron skillet, adding drops of honey to each as they sizzled. She felt something against her leg and she looked down, smiling when she saw that it was Aiden, patting her leg and smiling up at her with that slobbery smile of his. They had found out that he was an early crawler – according to books – and an even sharper eye had to be kept on him now.

Daryl, Aaron and Spencer were sitting at the table, the atlas open in front of them.

"Texas is out," Spencer was saying. "Way too many people there that are now walkers. And definitely not North until we decide to head Northwest."

"What about Louisiana?" Aaron suggested, his finger following a possible route they could take if that was where they decided to go. "Might be okay there. Plenty of places there that were hardly populated before."

Daryl was quiet as he studied the map of the country spread out in front of him.

Beth went to go collect the plates that Mulligan had left out for her to use.

"Wha' do you think?"

It took Beth a moment to realize that Daryl was asking her that. She put a corn cake on each plate and set them on the table and on Mulligan's plate, she put two.

"I think I'm going to explore a bit of these woods today," she said rather than give an opinion of where they should go; honestly not having one. "See what's here."

"You need to rest today," Daryl told her with a slight frown.

Beth didn't respond to that. Yes, she knew she needed to rest, but she also needed to know what these woods and this mountain had to offer. She suspected it had plenty. Before the end of the world, people had lived up in these mountains for generations. Maybe, exploring would reveal another house to them up here where they could stay. The Blue Ridge was a part of the Appalachian Mountain chain and people sometimes just forgot how vast and seemingly endless these mountains were. Beth felt like they could stay up here and find a place for themselves and have outstanding chances of never seeing another human again. Maybe even walkers would be down to just a handful everyday – if that.

"Maybe I'll make mushroom soup for dinner if I can find the right mushrooms around here," Beth thought out loud.

"Don't tease me, Beth," Spencer teased and Beth smiled.

The first time they had met Spencer, along with the others, Beth had made forest greens and mushroom soup with rabbit and Spencer hadn't seemed too eager to eat it. People changed though – especially nowadays. Now, it was one of Spencer's favorite dinners that Beth made.

"You need to rest, Beth," Daryl said again.

"I'm fine, Daryl," Beth said.

"Maybe now, but you ain't goin' to keep bein' fine if you keep pushin' yourself like this." Daryl stood up from his chair and frowned at her. "We jus' lost our house yesterday and 'ave been drivin' and walkin' most of the night and you didn' get enough sleep the night 'fore."

His frown was fierce and he sounded angry, but Beth wasn't going to take the bait and fight back with him. She knew that he was worried and stressed and he hadn't gotten enough sleep himself. They could all use a nap.

As if he could sense the tension hanging between them, Aiden began to cry and Beth instinctively bent down and hoisted the baby up in her arms.

"Stop pickin' 'im up," Daryl almost snapped at her and even though he was angry, he was still gentle as he took Aiden from her arms into his own. "You're pregnant and you're not supposed to be liftin' things," he said, still frowning, nearly scowling now.

Beth was growing mad now; so mad, she felt blood pumping and roaring in her ears. She stared at Daryl and he stared at her and somehow, even with a baby in his arms, he made quite the intimidating sight. In the back of her mind, she could feel Spencer and Aiden, still at the table, looking at them as if they were watching a basketball game, following the ball with their eyes, and the backdoor opened, Mulligan, Anna and Rosita returning inside.

"We brought eggs and milk!" Anna proudly announced, holding up one bucket and Rosita holding the basket of eggs in her arms.

But within seconds, the three could pick up on the heavy tension hanging in the air and they saw Beth and Daryl staring at one another as if they were two gunslingers, waiting for the clock to strike high noon before they drew on one another.

Beth looked away first. "Mulligan, there are your corn cakes."

And without saying anything else or looking at Daryl again, she stormed past him, to the front door, and stomped out, slamming the door shut behind her, hearing the way it rattled in its frame and she would be sure to apologize to Mulligan once she returned for making a scene.

It was cooler up in here in the mornings and she was wearing Daryl's hooded sweatshirt with her jeans and boots. Her sheathed knife was hooked in her belt loop as always and crossing her arms over her chest to conserve warmth, she began walking, not really choosing a particular direction; just choosing and going. She knew she had to concentrate and not let her anger blind her and as she walked, Beth focused on her breathing – in and out, steady and deep inhales and exhales – and began to look around her new surroundings as she walked.

The woods were lush and green and thick around her and she wished that she had brought her basket with her. Her fingers were itching to start foraging. The woods behind their house had been a good size, but nothing like this. She had never seen anything like this before. It just seemed to stretch on forever and forever.

She knew she shouldn't walk too far away. She had no idea where she was and even though Daryl had taught her how to track, she wasn't in the right frame of mind, she knew, to find her way back to Mulligan's cabin if she got herself too far away from it.

Fresh tears began building in her eyes. She didn't know how to get back to Mulligan's cabin because she didn't know where she was. She wasn't home. Home was gone. Three years and everything she and Daryl had built and worked towards, it was all gone and they were all safe and alive, but what were they going to do now?

Crying harder now, unable to get herself to stop, Beth saw a fallen log nearby and she went to go sit on it, jamming her elbows on her knees and holding her head in her hands. As she cried, she kept her ears open for any nearby shuffling to alert her to a walker, but all around her, it was quiet except for a few chirping birds.

What were they going to do? They couldn't stay with Mulligan forever. The man had been nice enough to let them stay for a couple of days, but none of them could expect him to just open up his house to seven people. They had to find their own place. Again. And build it up. Again. And she was going to be having a baby in a few months. What was she going to do if they couldn't find a place? And if they didn't find a place in time and were not able to prepare themselves like they had for Rosita's pregnancy and childbirth, was she going to die?

Everything had just been going so good for them. Maybe this is why this happened.

She was startled when she felt someone sit down beside her, even though when she lifted her head to see who it was, she knew it would be Daryl. And it was. He had found her and had been practically silent as he did it. He didn't say anything. He just sat there and looked at her and Beth didn't really need him to say anything. He didn't know anything more than her and right now, she knew absolutely nothing.

She did her best to stop crying and steady her breathing and the sleeves of the sweatshirt were long on her, covering her hands, and she used them to wipe at her cheeks. Beth's hand was warm on her back and at his touch, she began crying all over again. She was bordering on hysterical, but she couldn't help it. So much had happened in such a short amount of time and she was now fully registering it.

"There are plants I can take," Beth heard herself talking without even really hearing the words. She turned her head and looked at Daryl as he stared at her. "It will hurt, but, if I can find the plants…" she trailed off then and she saw the moment when he realized what she was talking about.

He ripped his hand from her back as if she had physically burned him and he stood up, spinning to look down at her as she looked up at him. She could feel his anger and it reminded her of their explosion outside of that shack. He was furious. She knew Daryl, she knew her _husband_ , well, and right now, he was absolutely furious.

"Are you actually tellin' me that you're goin' to kill the baby?" He asked and he was so angry, but past that, Beth saw his disbelief and further past that, his hurt.

She began crying again. "I don't know, Daryl!" She exclaimed at him. "It's easy for you to stand there and judge me! You're not the one who has to carry this baby! You're not the one who's going to die, bringing this baby into this world!"

"You think I won't die right along with you if somethin' happens to you?" He snapped back and Beth didn't know what else to say.

She hugged her arms around her legs and dropped her head to her knees, her body shaking with her tears. No, she couldn't kill the baby and she hated herself for even letting the thought cross her mind. This was hers and Daryl's baby. Their little baby and only over her dead body would she let _anything_ hurt this little baby.

Over her dead body… that very well could be exactly what would happen.

She felt Daryl sit down next to her again and this time, he put both of his arms around her and Beth turned to him, burying her face in his chest and crying. Crying until her eyes and throat hurt and she had no idea how she still had tears to produce. It was everything though. Losing absolutely everything – her daddy, the prison, their family, Jack. And now, losing their home and being pregnant and having no idea what could possibly be done now. It all just piled and piled until Beth didn't know what else to do except cry until she was exhausted.

Finally, slowly, her crying began to stop and finally, she could stop and she sat there with Daryl's arms around her and her face still in his chest, and she tried to get herself to breathe once more.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

Daryl didn't say anything.

She lifted her head to look at him and his eyes were set on her and she could just imagine the mess she looked right now. "I would never do anything to the baby."

"I know you're scared right now, but I jus' need you to trust me. I'm gonna take care of you and the baby. I don't know how, but I'm goin' to and I need you to trust me."

Beth nodded her head and sniffled and wiped her nose against the shirt sleeve. "I do," she said in a soft, yet firm, tone. "I do," she said and nodded again. "It's been you and me for so long, I can't remember when it wasn't."

Daryl's arms tightened a little around her and he kept looking at her and nowhere else. "We're goin' to explore 'round here and we're goin' to find a place and that's the only plan I've got right now."

She gave him a little smile. "It's a good plan," she said, her voice still soft.

Daryl pressed his lips to her forehead in a hard kiss and Beth closed her eyes, leaning into him. "Over my dead body am I goin' to let anythin' happen to you or this baby," he said, his lips still to her skin.

Beth didn't know how long they sat there, but eventually, they heard a sound both were extremely familiar with and Daryl seemed reluctant to move, but he did so anyway. He stood up and even though the walker was still a bit away, he fired his crossbow and the bolt sailed through the air before landing neatly in the walker's skull. The walker fell down in a heap and Daryl looked back to Beth, still sitting on the log, looking up at him.

"I brought your basket with me. Thought you might wanna get some stuff," Daryl said and Beth saw the tips of his ears poking through his too-long hair turning pink.

With a small smile, Beth stood up and noticed, for the first time, her basket on the ground. Daryl stooped down and picked up the basket, holding it out for her, and she took it, her smile growing a little wider, her earlier breakdown all but forgotten now. She was still scared, yes. Terrified, even. But as Daryl pointed out, there _was_ a plan. It was a tiny one, but it was a plan nonetheless and at least for today and tomorrow, they had a roof over their heads.

They began walking side-by-side, stopping at the walker so Daryl could get his bolt back and once he loaded his bow once more, they continued walking. There was a slight down-slope and they headed that way, and as they walked, Beth realized that she would have to bring her book out here with her next time. Because, although she had memorized everything of use in the woods behind their house, these were totally new woods and all around them, there were things that Beth couldn't identify confidently and she imagined that so much of these things could be useful to them. It was practically overwhelming to see the lush green landscape that surrounded them and which seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see.

Beth, sometimes, still thought about that terrible winter after they had barely escaped the farm and how awful it had been, always fleeing a place after a couple of days, always running, always hungry. Beth wondered how different it could have been if she had known then all that she knew now. Rick had been so hung up on finding them food that they were all used to. Medicine, too. If only she had had her books and had been able to find them some of her favorite useful plants. She wondered if Rick was still like that or if, maybe, he had adapted to this new world – finally. There were places that far surpassed an old grocery store as being useful.

"You wan' it?" Daryl asked, breaking the comfortable quiet that had settled between them. Beth looked to see what he was referring to and she broke into a smile, almost laughing, and that was all the answer Daryl needed. He aimed and fired a bolt through the snake's head, killing it. "Could go with your soup, if you make it tonight."

"I can't mention mushroom soup around others and not make it," she smiled. She swung her basket in her hand and felt like humming as if she was some Disney princess. It was silly how much she sometimes missed Disney, of all things.

She was able to find the forest greens she usually used and a growth of safe mushrooms as well as dandelions seeming to grow everywhere. She filled her basket nearly to the brim, also breaking bark off of passing trees to take home, boil it down and sprinkle it with cinnamon before drying it. Believe it or not, cinnamon tree bark had become one of their favorite things to eat and luckily, no one left in the world seemed to be on the lookout for cinnamon so anytime they found a house or store that had already been searched through, odds were that cinnamon containers were still in the spice racks, untouched and ignored. Amateurs.

Daryl let out a low whistle and Beth looked. He had walked a bit ahead as she picked bark from trunks and she looked to see him standing at the edge of what looked to be a drop-off. She curiously went to go see what had gotten his attention and when she came to stand next to him and saw for herself, she gasped.

There was only one word Beth could think of in that moment. _Amazing_.

The mountains covered in thick forests went on as far as her eyes could see, the sky stretching out for just as long; white puffs of clouds hanging above dotting the landscape, creating pockets of darkened shadows as the sun shone on the rest.

Beth had never experienced anything like it before, but she experienced such a connection to the world in that moment. Despite everything that had happened in the past few years, it was as if it had all happened so she could be here in this moment. And at her side stood Daryl, looking out at the landscape, seeming to be just as overwhelmed as she felt.

Without a word, she reached her hand out and slid it into his and Daryl was the one to link their fingers together before giving her hand a squeeze. Beth squeezed back.

…

For their evening meal, they had mushroom, green and dandelion soup with roasted snake, and they all sat around the wooden table in the kitchen, pretending they didn't notice Anna sneaking bites of her dinner to Mick, who begged at her feet.

When Mulligan was done after his third bowl, he leaned back in his chair and patted his stomach, full to the brim. "Yes'sir. I could get used to havin' you folks 'round here. 've not been starvin', but you make stuff that reminds me of my Grandma and 's nice to have someone to help me 'round here. You'll stay through the winter," he then said quite casually with his hand slapping onto the table as if it was a gavel and he had made his final decision.

Beth gasped and everyone froze and turned to look at him.

Mulligan looked over them and frowned, "What?" He asked.

Beth flew from her chair and she didn't care that she still hardly knew this man. She bent over and throwing her arms around his neck, she hugged him tightly. "Thank you, Mulligan. Thank you so, so much."

"You best be makin' me a corn cake every mornin'," Mulligan said with a pat to her elbow, clearly uncomfortable with this girl showing him affection.

Daryl could see it and he stood up, gently pulling Beth back from him.

"I will. I promise," Beth nodded emphatically. "How is your soil up here? We've brought some of the crops we were able to save and corn has become our most important. We make corn flour from it and I use it in just about everything. Acorn flour, too. I make a delicious bread-"

"You make bread?" Mulligan interrupted. "Wha' 'bout yeast?"

"I have a box of yeast packets we got from a church," Beth answered. "But I've taught myself how to make bread without yeast, too."

Mulligan kept looking at her and Beth smiled, able to already read that expression.

"I'll bake a loaf tomorrow."

Aiden could eat some solid food, but he still drank milk and Rosita stepped out from the bedroom where she, Spencer and Aiden were staying, the baby in her arms, having just finished nursing.

Mulligan took one look at the boy and stood up. "Thought of somethin' earlier I've been meanin' to bring up."

He opened the door in the kitchen that led to the root cellar and they listened to his heavy footsteps on the steps.

"He's not a scary mountain man at all," Anna was the one to break the silence.

"Did you think he really meant it? He'd let us stay here for months?" Aaron asked, looking to Daryl.

Daryl was quiet a passing second and then he shrugged. "Don' think he's the kind of guy to say somethin' he don't mean."

"Wait. What'd I miss?" Rosita asked, settling down in the chair next to Spencer, and Spencer took Aiden to burp him.

"We can stay," Beth said to her, feeling like crying all over again though this afternoon had definitely made her feel all cried out.

Rosita gasped in much of the same way Beth had when Mulligan had told them.

They heard his steps on the stairs again and they all looked as he stepped into the kitchen and saw him holding a wooden something in his arms.

"Plenty of Mulligan kids rode this thing," he said as he went to the living room and set it down and they could all see that it was an old-fashioned handmade wooden rocking horse. "Figured your lil' one would like it, too."

Spencer grinned when Aiden burped and Spencer kept grinning as he stood up, going to the horse. "It's amazing," Spencer said. "Thank you," he said to Mulligan.

Mulligan gave a nod and they all watched as Spencer crouched down and set Aiden down on the horse's seat, keeping his hands on him so he didn't topple off. When the horse began to rock back and forth, Aiden let out a happy squeal and they all smiled.

Rosita, with tears in her eyes, stood up and rushed to Mulligan and threw her arms around his neck in a hug.

Mulligan frowned. "Wha's the hell with you women?"

…

* * *

 **And so their Appalachian adventure begins. (It bothers me how the show is still kind of obsessed with canned goods.)**

 **Thank you so much for reading and please take a moment to comment!**


	13. Freakout

**I have been in such a "missing Beth" depression over the past couple of days and I needed to write the story where she is so awesome and kick-ass (even though I think she's awesome in all of my stories).**

* * *

…

 **Chapter Thirteen.** Freak-Out.

Daryl was pulled from his sleep by Anna laughing and Mick barking excitedly and birds singing outside the bedroom window. It was all so damn normal and didn't the world end? Sure as hell didn't sound like it on their side of the mountain. Not only did it sound normal, but it also smelled like someone had gotten up to fry some eggs.

Beth was still asleep next to him. Good. She needed sleep and he told her that about twice every day, but she normally just gave him a smile and shake of her head, insisting to him that she was fine despite the faint circles under her eyes that he could see clear as day. He remembered that the first trimester had wiped Rosita out and she had always been sleeping and if she wasn't sleeping, she had wished she was. And even if she said she didn't need it, everyone knew that Beth was lying. Hell yeah, she needed it. Even if she wasn't pregnant, she would need it.

A month had passed since Mulligan had told them that they could stay and in those days since, they had all worked hard to get everything in order. Mulligan had been against most of their plans – digging trenches, getting a fence built, doing what they had done at their old home – and had argued whenever one of them had suggested doing something to fortify the area, yelling about how this was still his damn mountain and none of them could do a damn thing to change it. It had been Aaron who had talked to him – used to people who could be described only as volatile.

He had explained it to Mulligan simply and to the point. They had Anna and Aiden and Beth would be having a baby, too, soon and they had a barn of animals. They knew he didn't get that many walkers or people up here, but they needed to be safe and they would rather be safer than sorry.

Mulligan had been quiet at that and he then looked to Anna and Aiden, who both were sitting at the table, eating a breakfast of corn mush with cups of goat's milk. He then looked to Beth at the stove, who was now sporting the tiniest baby bump that was visible through her shirt, as she made Mulligan's daily corn cake.

He hadn't said anything to that. The man had simply given a single nod of his head and had walked out to the barn to see to the animals even though they had already fed and milked them earlier with the rising sun.

And since then, anything they had thought of doing, Mulligan helped them. They began building a fence. Gas expired so instead of using the pickup truck, Mulligan had a wagon and they brought his horse and in the town at the base of the mountain, they began scavenging the town, tearing down all of the wood and plaster they could and saving the nails and loading the wagon to take it back up the mountain. It was a long process. The spot of land that the house and the barn sat on was large – uneven with trees everywhere – but the trees also aided in adding to their fence and defense. They also wanted to make sure they had plenty of room for a garden and the animals to graze. As they worked, Daryl was amazed at how quiet it was up here. He couldn't help but wonder why Rick had never thought of coming up here.

Mulligan said the soil up in the mountains wasn't the best. It was hard and rocky, but Beth said they would never know if they didn't try. The crops they had saved from their old garden before the storm, they planted once they had marked off and toiled the ground in preparation. Tomatoes, potatoes, corn and lavender.

He then gave Beth a cloth-bound journal – the pages old and yellowed with age – and told her that it was something his grandma started and something that his mom and aunts and sister had added to over the years. And when Beth saw what it was, she nearly burst into tears and threw her arms around Mulligan though she knew that the hugs made him uncomfortable. She then proceeded to read and study the journal, cover to cover, reading and learning all about life in Appalachia.

If she wasn't in their garden, or in the kitchen, she – with sometimes Rosita and Anna – was walking and collecting the leaves, stems, roots and bark of sweet gum, white mint, mullein, and sassafras into her basket. She brought them back home, rinsed them in the water and tied them in bunches all over to dry. In the backyard, she'd light a fire beneath the kettle and boil the herbs to a bubbly head before pouring them into jars, labeling each with a piece of tape and marker on the lid. White-mint for circulation. Catnip tea for babies with colic. Tansy tea for low blood sugar. Mullein tea for a stomachache.

It was still amazing to them all what Beth was able to do.

They all worked sunup to sundown and each evening, when they went into the house for dinner, they rarely had the energy to do much except eat. It had taken them years to build up their old house to the near-fortress it became and even though Mulligan had lived quiet up here so far, like Aaron had told him – they'd rather be safe than sorry.

The house may had been a built nearly a hundred years ago, but it was surprisingly large inside. There were two large bedrooms with their own fireplaces, one overlooking the front and one overlooking the back. Rosita, Spencer and Aiden slept in the front bedroom and Daryl and Beth slept in the back one. The back bedroom also had a back door that led out to the outhouse and it was all agreed that Beth should be close to the bathroom because when Rosita was pregnant, she was going to the bathroom all of the time.

There were stairs that led up to a sizable lofted area that had been cut into two rooms years ago. Mulligan slept in one and Aaron slept in the other. And then, beneath the stairs, there was a room – big enough for a twin bed and a trunk – and Anna had begged to be able to sleep there. Beth had laughed and called her their very own Harry Potter, And Anna had smiled at that even though she had never read the books or seen the movies. It was Spencer who promised to find her copies the next time they went somewhere for something.

Daryl had been on watch the night before though up here, he was learning that there really wasn't a need for it. They sometimes saw a couple of walkers a day and then other times, they didn't see a single walker for a couple of days. And there definitely weren't people walking around here. Daryl had a feeling that the people who had been up here who had turned into walkers, Mulligan had taken care of them a long time ago. He was grateful for it, but Daryl didn't understand why coming up to these mountains was an obvious choice for other people left.

Plenty of plants that could be eaten, creeks of fresh water, plenty of places to hide and possibly made a home; the sheer vastness of these mountains that stretched across the entire eastern side of the country overwhelming. Rick had always been so obsessed with finding them a place to live – rightly so – but now, being away from him for a few years, Daryl was realizing the man that he had come to respect and love like a brother suffered from tunnel vision. So much of Rick had been trying to hold onto the old way of the world, he hadn't been ready to accept that they would have to do things completely different to survive.

He thought over what the others had told him of Alexandria. The tall fences with the solar panels that gave them electricity in their big fancy houses with running water, it definitely sounded like it was Rick's dream come true. Daryl would never go and see it for himself. He didn't know that much about this Negan guy who had come along, but he knew enough. Daryl knew that Rick could probably handle him.

Beside him, he could Beth beginning to stir and he turned his head on the pillow to watch her as she began to slowly wake up.

"Is it late?" She asked, her eyes still closed.

"Nah. Sun's not even done risin' yet," Daryl answered.

She let out a yawn as she rolled onto her side, facing him, her eyes remaining closed and he hoped she would go back to sleep. They had been working nonstop and though he knew they couldn't, Daryl thought they could all use a bit of a sleep-in.

Beth's hand came to a rest on the slight pregnancy bump that had been popping out over the past couple of weeks and even though he knew she had been pregnant all this time, actually seeing it was something completely different. It was scary as hell.

Beth opened her eyes and saw him looking at the bump and without a word, she reached out and took his hand, gently bringing it to rest alongside hers. It was the first time he touched it and he nearly pulled his hand away. But then he stopped himself. This was Beth and this was their kid and he damn well better get used to it.

His hand flexed for a moment before it relaxed on the tiny bump and Beth gave him a faint smile, covering his hand with hers.

"You'd have to come to the house, of course," she said. "And speak with daddy."

It took a second for Daryl to catch on. "Is this before I knock you up or after?"

Beth giggled softly, lightly, at that. "Before. You married me before getting me pregnant," she reminded him.

"A'right," Daryl played along. "So I go and talk to your old man 'bout marryin' you. And he chases me off the farm with a shotgun pointed at my ass."

Beth burst with laughter at that and it made Daryl smile. "Maybe the first time, he would, but you love me and want to marry me so you'd go back and try again."

"Well, you ain't wrong 'bout that," he said quietly and Beth smiled, scooting a bit closer to him. His hand slid from her bump to rest in the curve of her hip. "And wha' abou' Maggie? And your mom?"

"Maggie… Maggie would be difficult," Beth admitted and he nearly snorted with amusement at that understatement. Difficult wouldn't be the word Daryl would have used to describe Beth's older – extremely overprotective – sister.

It wasn't as if he and Maggie hadn't gotten along. They had gotten along fine. Daryl had always thought that Maggie was tough as hell and could take care of herself. When he and Beth first got out of the prison, he had sometimes thought how it would have been if he had gotten out with the other Greene sister and how much easier it would have been for him.

Beth did what Beth always did though and she proved just how wrong he was. He doubted that Maggie could make bread and goat cheese and her own pasta and all sorts of teas to help when one of them got sick. And it wasn't as if he was blaming Maggie at all for what happened to Lori, but Rosita lived with Beth delivering Aiden. That was all Daryl was going to say.

"And your mom?" Daryl asked.

Beth smiled, her cheeks pink. "She'd probably frown in front of you, but behind closed doors, she'd tell me how handsome she thought you were."

Daryl felt his ears turn pink at that and she laughed softly, moving her head closer to his. Their noses were nearly touching and he took a moment to look into her eyes. When was the last time they had this? Just a few minutes to lay there and not have to get up for anything? It was because of Beth that they were here. She had wanted a goat, had wanted one more than anything, and Daryl had been willing to do anything to find her one. It was because of Beth that they had traveled north to the mountains in the first place. If she hadn't, would they had ever even thought of coming up here?

He tilted his face down and pressed his lips to hers. He felt her smiling against his mouth for a moment before her fingers combed through his hair and she kissed him happily in return. He didn't know how much time they had before they were needed for something or other, but he was going to take however long they had.

Daryl felt the baby bump press into his own lower stomach as he rolled Beth onto her back, placing himself over her. Their lips never broke apart and if anything, Beth tightened her arms around his shoulders as if to make sure he stayed right where he was. For a moment, he panicked about crushing the baby and he began to pull his mouth back, but as if reading his mind, Beth shook her head.

"You can't, I promise," she panted, out of breath, and pulled him down on her again.

It was summer and it still got hot and humid during the days, but the nights could be cool and they didn't sleep with a fire in the fireplace, but they did sleep in layers.

Pushing himself up on his knees, he began undressing her, ignoring his own clothes, and once she was naked, he spread her thighs open and laid himself down between them. Looking up her body, he saw that Beth's eyes were already closed with anticipation, and his lips quirked a little as his hands slowly rubbed her hip bones and her thighs. And even though she knew exactly what he was going to do, when his lips first touched her between her legs, Beth let out a gasp and her fingers returned to his head, gripping his hair.

He didn't know how long he stayed down there. He just knew that he took his time, making love to her with his mouth slowly and thoroughly. He didn't use his fingers like he sometimes did. This morning, he just wanted to use his lips and tongue and listening to Beth panting and watching her arch and bite down on her lip, she didn't seem to have a problem with that particular decision.

She was getting so wet and she tasted so delicious, Daryl was pretty sure he could hear his own slurps in his ears even with her thighs pressing against them.

"So good," he was pretty sure he murmured and Beth whimpered, trying to move, but his hands had clasped down on her hips to keep her still on the bed.

For a fleeting second, he wondered who in Mulligan's family had slept in this bed before he and Beth came to it. Had a man ever gone down on a woman on it before this morning? Had a woman ever been moaning and pleading with the man for more or were he and Beth the first?

Beth was able to grab one of the pillows and muffle it against her face just as she came and Daryl closed his eyes, losing himself in her as she came and he drank her down. Was there anything better tasting left in this world than his wife?

When he lifted his head after licking her clean, Beth was panting, the pillow off of her face, her chest heaving up and down.

"That was lovely," she breathed with a slight smile on her face and Daryl smirked, rubbing her thighs, and he then leaned down and pressed a firm kiss to the bump.

Beth turned her head to watch him as he got off the bed, going to the basin and jug of water kept in the room at night. He poured some water into the basin and then leaned down, splashing some of it onto his face.

"What about you?" She asked.

He smirked a little as he patted his face with the towel on the windowsill. "This was all 'bout you this mornin'," he said.

Beth's face with flushed from what he had just done, but Daryl could tell that she was blushing. Slowly, she pulled herself from the bed and began to get dressed for the day. He watched her for a moment.

"Take it easy today, alrigh'?" He said. "You need to take it easy."

"Is everyone else getting the day off?" She asked as she tugged on her blue jeans.

"Beth," Daryl sighed.

"Daryl," Beth sighed in return, teasing him. Tugging on her tee-shirt, she then went to him, her arms slipping around his waist. "I'm fine," she then said and he swore that that had become her theme song because she said it at least twice a day to him.

Daryl didn't say anything. Yeah, she was fine. He knew it. But he also knew that she had to take care of herself. Beth took care of all of them. That was what she did. She kept them fed and healthy and she ran herself ragged, seeing to everyone in the house and in the garden. When she had told the others that she was pregnant, they were all stepping up, more than ready and willing to help her with her daily jobs. But so far, Beth had been adamant about still doing the same amount on her own that she did before she was pregnant. She damn near drove him crazy.

Beth stood on her toes and pressed a light kiss to his scratching chin. "You are very good to me, Daryl Dixon," she said, smiling softly up at him.

And with that, she turned and went out the back door to go use the outhouse.

Daryl got himself dressed and grabbing his crossbow and slinging the strap onto his shoulder, he left the bedroom, stepping into the kitchen.

In addition to the rocking horse in the root cellar, the Mulligan family had also had a wooden highchair that had been brought up and which Aiden now sat in at the table. At the wooden stove, Anna stood on her tiptoes and Aaron stood next to her. They were frying eggs in the iron frying pan and Aaron held a spatula in his hand.

"Where the hell is my corn-cake?" Mulligan frowned from where he was at the sink, turning to Daryl the instant he entered the room.

Daryl frowned at him in return. "She was sleepin'. Hold your horses, old man."

Mulligan grumbled something under his breath that Daryl couldn't hear and Daryl thought Mulligan was pretty damn lucky that Daryl couldn't hear what he muttered.

"Hey, Daryl, you want some eggs?" Aaron asked as Anna watched as he turned the two eggs he was frying up at the moment over onto the other side.

"Sounds good," Daryl nodded and as passed Aiden in the high chair, he rubbed the baby's head as if he was a good-luck statue and Aiden gurgled with laughter up at him. Daryl smiled a little at him in return and went outside to take a piss.

He wondered what he and Beth would have. A boy or a girl. They all really needed to sit down and talk about the delivery because Beth obviously couldn't sure as shit do it. Rosita had stepped up and said that she would, but Daryl wasn't going to let her deliver his kid on her own. He had to do his research, too. They had to make sure they had all of the herbs they would need and he tried to remember everything they had collected and used for Rosita that night when she had gone into labor.

Beth had been preparing herself for months; from the moment Rosita had told all of them that she was pregnant. Beth was already out of her first trimester, entering her second, and they hadn't done shit to prepare. What the hell had they been waiting for? They had to get their shit together. Now.

Daryl's heart was racing in his chest as he looked around Mulligan's property. They had to finish putting up the fence and seeing to the garden and there was always an endless list to complete before winter came and yeah, Mulligan had said they could stay for the winter, but what about when winter had passed and spring was here? Daryl should have been out there already, finding them their next place to live.

What the fuck was the matter with him? What the fuck was he waiting for?

This was _Beth_. This was their baby. He couldn't let a single damn thing happen to her just because he hadn't taken the time to prepare and get himself and all of them ready for this.

"Beth!" He shouted, not caring how loud he was or how much noise he was making.

He stalked up to the outhouse door and banged on the door with his fist.

"Beth!"

"Geez, Daryl, stop!" She called out from inside.

"Get your ass out here!" He shouted and he didn't care how insane he sounded right now. They had all been waiting for it and it seemed like it was here; out of the blue just like he, and all of them, knew how it would be coming.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Spencer and Rosita come from the barn, Spencer holding a fresh bucket of goat's milk and they were watching him.

"What's going on?" Rosita frowned.

"Think the freak out's finally here," Spencer answered.

Beth shoved the door open, almost hitting him in the face, but Daryl stepped back in time. She was frowning at him with a ferocity that Daryl had seen more than once over the years and having Beth angry wasn't a good thing. For a little thing, she was fierce, but right now, Daryl just didn't care about that.

"What?" Beth snapped.

"You are going to be having a baby in five months," he snapped back.

Beth exhaled a sigh and rolled her eyes. "Thanks for reminding me, Daryl. Silly me, that must have slipped my mind."

The back door opened and Aaron poked his head out. "Daryl, your eggs are ready."

"There is only one egg I care about," Daryl said, still staring down at Beth.

"Oh my god," Beth whispered to herself, looking to the ground and shaking her head. She then looked up at Daryl again. "It's not an egg anymore, Daryl. It's a baby. And calm down about it."

"Calm down?" He echoed as if he had never heard a crazier statement than that.

"Beth! Where's my corn-cake?" Mulligan yelled from inside the house.

"Fuck your corn-cake, Mulligan!" Daryl shouted.

"Coming!" Beth called out, sounding as sweet as sugar, and she pushed back Daryl to go back into the house.

Daryl ignored Spencer and Rosita, snickering with laughter, as he stalked past them and followed Beth through the back door into the kitchen. Aaron practically shoved the plate of eggs in Daryl's face and with a growl, Daryl snatched it and turned, shoving it into Rosita's hands.

"I didn't freak out like this, did I?" Spencer asked, setting the bucket of milk down on the table.

"God, no. You were actually so calm about the whole thing, it actually freaked me out," Rosita admitted.

Daryl stared at Beth as she prepared the corn-cake and then went to the stove, beginning to cook it in the egg grease left in the pan that Aaron had been using. Beth, though, did not look at him in return. In fact, she cooked Mulligan's stupid corn-cake and she actually began humming. Humming! As if there wasn't a thing wrong!

"Alrigh'!" Daryl barked suddenly, startling all of them and making Anna jump. "We are _all_ havin' a baby and you bet your asses that we are goin' to be ready for it! Nothin's goin' to happen to Beth or the baby. We need the 'erbs and plants and whatever shit we need-"

"Obviously, Daryl," Rosita cut in with a roll of her eyes. "What do you think me, Beth and Anna have been collecting out there?"

"Your man's gone and lost his mind," Mulligan said to Beth as she handed him a plate with his corn-cake on it.

"It was bound to happen," she said with a shrug and little smile and though Daryl's freak out was a little ridiculous at the moment, she actually found it all rather sweet.

…

* * *

 **Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to leave a review! I hope you enjoyed this one!**


	14. Clothes

**I can't thank you all enough who has been reading and reviewing this story. I love this story so much and it's the one my muse is really with right now and I know my sequels always aren't the most popular so I can't express how much your support means to me.**

 **I have really liked the idea of a Daryl/Rosita friendship ever since they went on a run together in S6.**

* * *

…

 **Chapter Fourteen.** Clothes.

"They're growin' like damn weeds," Daryl muttered as they walked through the rooms on the first floor of the house they had cleared.

Rosita laughed a little. "But just think of the hand-me-downs your baby will get."

She opened a door, revealing an ironing board and iron. On the upper shelf, there was a box of dryer sheets, which she grabbed and put into the pack on her back. Dryer sheets, they learned, helped ward off mosquitos. Daryl turned towards the bookshelves lining the walls of the living room. Knick-knacks covered in dust. Some books. Daryl's eyes scanned over the titles on the spines. It was something he and Beth started doing together when it had been just the two of them and something that, still, they and their family all now did together every evening after eating dinner. They chose a book and read out loud from it.

Looking over the titles, he saw one they hadn't read yet that might be a good one. _Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde._ He took the fancy leather-bound book from the shelf, blowing the dust off of it, before slipping it into his own pack.

The run – as all of their runs nowadays – had been completely unplanned. They needed clothes. All of them; even Mulligan whether he agreed or not. They had all had their clothes for so long, they were worn and torn and ripped and they had kept them all and worn them for as long as they could, and even though Rosita was a skilled sewer and knitter, she could still only do too much. They had tossed their names into the basket just as they had done at their old home and today, Daryl and Rosita's names had been pulled to be the ones to go.

They didn't take a car, but they had two hiking packs on their backs. They knew that without a car, they couldn't be able to get as nearly as much as they would need, but they were driving their car and truck less and less these days. Gas expired – they just didn't know how long they had – and they were never wanted to be out on a run when it decided it was time to happen. They'd rather play it extra safe than be sorry. They had went down the mountain that morning after breakfast to the small town at the base of it and had gone through a couple of houses already, finding nothing useful that hadn't been eaten by moths or had become home to mice.

"Daryl," Rosita got his attention immediately. "Grab that."

She was pointing to a thick book on the couch, someone having placed it there years ago and it had been there since, completely forgotten. He picked it up and looked at the cover, frowning. _Fangirl_. And what the hell kind of name was Rainbow? He then looked back at Rosita, not having to ask the question; it being a clear one on his face. Rosita laughed a little and took it from him, putting it into her own pack.

"It's my favorite book. And Beth will love it, too. Trust me."

Daryl grunted at that, having nothing to say about it. Rosita and Beth had become so close over the years since first meeting, Daryl sometimes wondered what would happen if they ever saw Maggie again and where she would fit in. He knew it was something pointless to think about and it wasn't as if he did it often. Just sometimes, he'd get a quick flash of a thought from someone he used to know and he would think if whether or not they ever thought of him and Beth.

Rosita had said that Maggie had only mentioned Beth once and that was to say that her younger sister was dead. Daryl wondered if Rick thought the same of him.

Not needing anything downstairs, they headed up to the bedrooms on the second floor. There was a child's room at the top of the stairs and Rosita went straight in there with Daryl behind her. They barely even blinked at the toys scattered on the floor and the solar system wallpaper. They had stopped thinking a long time ago of the children who used to live in bedrooms like this.

Daryl stooped down and picked up a plastic dump-truck to take back to Aiden as Rosita searched through the dresser drawers and Daryl next headed to the closet though with just a glance, he could see that there wasn't anything they could take.

"Daryl?"

He instantly turned. Rosita had found a couple of pairs of jeans fit for a little kid as well as a couple of shirts. She was folding them and putting them away into her pack, not looking at him until she was done.

"What are we going to do?" She asked him in a quiet voice.

"'bout what?" Daryl asked.

"Mulligan said we could stay through the winter, but what are we going to do after that?" She asked and Daryl had known Rosita for a while now and he wasn't used to hearing her like she sounded right now. Right now, she sounded scared.

He remembered the first time he saw her – peeking over the back fence with Spencer as Beth was in the garden with Jack, their fox, singing and pulling weeds. She had been tough and un-phased as Daryl pointed a crossbow right at her eye. And she was still tough as hell. Second toughest woman he knew behind Beth, but he got it. He did. Thing were different now and she had a little kid that she thought about and she was scared for Aiden.

Daryl was already terrified for Beth and his baby and he or she hadn't even been born yet.

Daryl looked her straight in the face as he answered. "We found a place once and we're gonna find a place again."

He didn't know if Rosita expected him to say more. He didn't know what else he could say. It may have seemed simple, but in his mind, it was what it was. The truth. They found a house and built it up to be a pretty damn good one. Nothing was saying they couldn't do it again. Daryl had been wanting to ask Mulligan for some advice of other houses he knew of in these mountains that maybe they could have, because one thing was for sure. Daryl was going to keep his family in these mountains and he wasn't looking to come back down any time soon.

He waited for her to say something and after a beat, Rosita nodded her head.

"I trust you."

He wasn't sure why, but he had the sudden urge to hug her right then. It was still important to him that his family knew that he'd burn what was left of this world down if it was what he had to do to keep them all safe. _I trust you_ were three of the most important words that could be said to him. For all of his life, he had just been following after someone; listening to their orders. First Merle and then Rick and it was only once the prison fell and he and Beth ran that he realized it was time he started making decisions on his own.

He didn't do it alone. Beth was right at his side, voicing her own opinion and they made their decisions together. But oftentimes, everyone would look to him for all of the answers and it was stressful and nerve-wracking and it was obvious to Daryl now why Rick could be a little unhinged at times. It was important to Daryl. Before the world ended, the biggest decision Merle had to make for them both was which bar they were going to that night. But now, every decision Daryl made for himself and his family could result in one of them dying.

"Come on. Le's go check out the master," Daryl said with a jerk of his head.

The master bedroom was directly across the hall from the kid's bedroom and Rosita headed towards the dressers as Daryl went straight for the closet.

"Jackpot," he said once he stepped into the small step-in closet and Rosita came rushing over. They both looked down to the two plastic containers on the floor – one labeled _Misc._ and the other labeled _Winter_ , dusty dresses hanging above.

"Thank God," Rosita sighed with relief. "I was beginning to think there was nothing left." She dropped down to her knees to pop the lid open on the top one.

It smelled a bit musty – having been closed up for a few years without being open – but other than, everything seemed to be in pretty good shape and it looked as if there was a mixture of men and women's clothes. It was obvious that the people who used to live her had planned on taking these containers with them wherever it was they were going, but something must have happened to keep them from doing so. Daryl didn't think about it more than that though. No point in thinking about it. Those people were gone and now his family had some clothes they needed.

Hearing something bang on the street below, Daryl hurried from the closet, crossbow armed and at the ready and he went to look through the window overlooking the front of the house. A herd. A small one, but a herd nonetheless, slowly shuffling down the street past the house they were in.

He turned back to Rosita, who had her knife in her hand, and he put his finger to his lips as if she was ready to burst out into song otherwise.

She nodded and went back to the closet to look through the containers of clothes and Daryl stayed by the window, looking down at the walkers. There weren't that many – probably thirty. He had definitely seen bigger herds. But they still moved slowly and he figured that he and Rosita would be in here for a while until they passed and the coast was all clear again.

He just hoped they would be able to get back home before dark.

He did his best to not think of Mulligan's house as home. It wasn't. They were just visiting; stopping to take a rest. The man was nice enough to let them stay through the winter and Beth's delivery, but after that, Daryl had no idea and he wasn't going to ask. Mulligan seemed to like them and they all liked him – slight craziness aside – but that wasn't their home. It was Mulligan's home and they couldn't expect him to let them make it their home, too.

Daryl moved away from the window and went back to the walk-in closet. Rosita was taking things from the container, unfolding them, holding them up before folding them once again and setting them aside. Tee-shirts, jeans, sweaters and plaid shirts. Mostly men's clothes, but a couple of women's clothes – not that it mattered. Beth and Rosita had no problem wearing men's clothes. Perfect fitting clothes was something that stopped mattering a long time ago.

Daryl crouched down and set his crossbow next to him. He grabbed the _Misc_. container and dragging it towards him, he popped the lid off. Thank God. Boxers and socks and a few pairs of bras and women's underwear, too. He sifted through it. They actually really needed underwear for Anna and Aiden. Maybe that was something that Rosita would have to sew for them.

"These will be good," Rosita said, holding up a pain of men's jeans. "For when Beth gets a bit bigger, she'll need something bigger that will fit her easier."

Daryl was quiet for a second and then muttered, "I hadn' even thought of that."

Rosita just gave him a smile. "Spencer didn't think of it either."

Daryl gave a head nod and then sat down, leaning his back against the doorframe. "You ever meet his brother?" He asked for some reason.

"Kind of." Rosita continued unfolding and folding again, making piles, if she thought something would work best for a someone particular. "When we got there, it was overwhelming to say the least. And I was still with Abraham… Spencer and I hooked up long after Aiden had died and Abraham had dumped me."

"Who'd he dump you for?" Daryl asked, not understanding his curiosity. Maybe it was because in all of the years they had known one another, he couldn't remember ever having one-on-one time with Rosita like this.

"I think you knew her. Sasha?" Rosita looked to Daryl, who gave an affirmative nod.

"Sounds like a damn soap opera," he then grumbled and she laughed a little.

"Why do you think I got the hell out of there?" She joked and he smirked a bit. "But it all worked out because we left and met you and Beth and I fell in love with Spencer and now we have our Aiden."

"You gonna have another one?" Daryl asked.

She shrugged. "We've talked about it."

Daryl didn't know if he was surprised or not at her answer. He didn't feel it. Maybe it was because this was what happened. The world ended and the people who survived tried to get it going again.

"What about you and Beth? Are you going to have more than one?" Rosita asked.

Daryl felt like smirking again even though he didn't find anything amusing about the idea of Beth having children. She was so small… and that was only one of his concerns. But it was too late and at least they had a place to stay for the winter.

"Le's just get through this one first," he said and Rosita nodded as if she hadn't expected him to say anything different.

…

They got back around dusk.

There had been a plastic children's wagon in the garage and they loaded the containers into it and Rosita pulled it open the mountain with Daryl pushing the end of it and he was glad they had found the wagon because he didn't know how else they would have carried the containers back. That and now they had a wagon for the kids and it would probably have a few more uses for them, too.

"They're back!" They heard Anna call out.

Anna had discovered a love of climbing trees and she was always climbing trees around the cabin and with a pair of binoculars that Aaron had, she was often on lookout. After announcing their presence, they saw her scrambling down the tree and a moment later, she had unlocked and opened the door they had built into the side of the fence, smiling when she saw them.

"Find anything good?" She asked and then gasped. "You found a wagon!"

"Yep. 's yours to share with Aiden," Daryl said.

"It's perfect!" She closed and locked the door behind them once more and Rosita pulled the wagon towards the house with Daryl still pushing it.

Mulligan and Aaron had been in the barn and Spencer had been in the garden and they came over to help them and to see what they had found. Daryl left them to go into the house where Beth was. The air smelling warm and pleasant with food and when he came through the back door into the kitchen, Beth abandoned whatever she was working on at the counter to come at him. She put her arms around his neck and the bump pressed against his middle as he wrapped her up in his arms, holding her tight and pressing his face to the side of her neck.

"You were gone longer than I thought," she said to him in a quiet voice.

Daryl's arms squeezed around her. "Had to lay low for a little bit. Herd."

Beth's own arms tightened, but she didn't say anything. Daryl knew that she had probably spent the entire day, worrying about him, and he knew stress wasn't good for her or their baby.

"Smells good in here," he said as a way of getting her mind away from certain thoughts. She had enough on her mind without worrying about him constantly; even though worrying about him was just one of those things that Beth did.

"I was trying to distract myself today," she said, pulling away from him reluctantly, returning to the counter. "I made pasta and tomato sauce and a loaf of bread and I made a lavender and honey cake for dessert."

"Jesus, Beth," Daryl let out a breath and came to stand in front of her. "You're supposed to be takin' it easy, 'member?"

"Don't," she said, looking up at him and her eyes looked sad and her fingers curled into the front of the tee-shirt he was wearing. "Don't," she said again in a whisper.

Daryl didn't say anything. He obviously was alright. He was standing right in front of her. But he didn't say it because he knew it wasn't what Beth needed to hear. Right now, she just needed to look at him and touch him and know that he was really there. She had never liked him going on runs without her, but lately – since they found out she was pregnant and he had come up here and gotten snatched by, what they had thought at the time, to what they thought, was an insane mountain man. She didn't like going an entire day without knowing what was happening to him.

Daryl was like that, too. He never wanted to be away from her, but right now, they didn't have a choice and it wasn't as if he went on runs constantly like he used to, but Beth coming with him when he _did_ go just wasn't an option right now. Her number one priority had to be keeping their baby safe and Daryl's number one priority was keeping both Beth and their baby safe. They all had jobs to do.

He leaned in and kissed her on the forehead and left his lips there to rest a moment. He listened as she exhaled a shaky breath.

"You find anything good?" She asked, pulling herself away from and turning back to the wood stove where she was stirring a pot full of noodles in bubbling water.

"Me and Rosita managed to find a couple of bins of clothes." Daryl went to the sink and with the manual water pump, he filled a tin cup. "But can't find kids' underwear anywhere and I don't know why."

"Maybe Rosita can sew some," Beth suggested.

Daryl paused, taking a gulp of water, and nodded. "'s what I was thinkin'."

"Beth, look!" Anna jumped through the back door, into the kitchen. She was wearing a maroon sweatshirt that was so large on her, it hung down to her knees and the sleeves had to be rolled a few times so her hands were free. "Isn't it funny?" She asked. "Spencer said it's hilarious."

In white print, there was a graphic of a piñata. And then, beneath that, it stated 'I'D HIT THAT'. When Daryl saw it, he cracked into a smile and it looked as if Beth was trying to keep herself from doing so, but then, she couldn't control herself and she began laughing. And hearing Beth laugh, Anna giggled too and held the sweatshirt out in front of her so she could look down and read it. She obviously didn't understand it, but she was glad that everyone else seemed to like it so much.

Pulling the wagon into the living room, agreeing that they would go through it all once they were done eating, they then sat down at the table and since Beth had cooked all day, Aaron and Spencer served everyone the food, making her sit down.

A few months ago, Daryl and Beth had found a room that had been stockpiled to the brim with supplies left over from an extreme couponer. Beth liked to make her own pasta – not wanting to use all of the boxes of pasta they had, though Daryl didn't see how that was possible – but she did use two jars of spaghetti sauce for tonight's dinner and had added in fresh mushrooms picked from the woods and Mulligan surprised her with an onion from the root cellar from below for her to add to it, to. And along with the fresh bread Beth had baked, it was a regular feast.

"Maybe I should go on runs more if this is everythin' you cook when I'm gone," Daryl smirked a little as he twisted noodles around his fork.

Beth's pinch to his thigh at that was instant.

When they were all done, they grumbled about being too full, but none of them stopped Beth when she cut them pieces of the lavender and honey cake she had baked. Mulligan had two pieces and Aiden smashed his up in his fists and ate it messily from his high chair.

"My grandma used to keep bees," Mulligan thought out loud. "Might have her hives somewhere still in the storage shed."

Beth gasped at that. "Really?"

She had been wanting to bee keep for a couple of years now and she had read all about it in her book, but they had never been able to gather all of the supplies they would need for it.

"I reckon I'll check tomorrow," Mulligan nodded. "We get ourselves a constant supply of honey, you can keep makin' this cake."

Beth laughed. "And hopefully, when we leave in the spring, we won't go too far so I can keep cooking things for you."

Beth was smiling, but as soon as she said the words, it dropped from her face and everyone else got quiet as well. Daryl looked to Mulligan, but the man didn't say anything. He just finished up his cake, scraping the plate clean and then he stood up, placing the plate in the sink.

"Le's go, Anna," he said, opening the back door. "Gotta see to the animals before bed."

Anna stood up, shoveling the last bite of her cake into her mouth, and then she grabbed another slice of bread before following Mulligan out the door. When they left and the door closed behind them, there was a heavy silence in the kitchen that followed. None of the others spoke and Aiden giggled to himself, slapping his hands into his smashed piece of cake, unaware of the heavy mood that now hung in the air.

Daryl knew he had to say something and that it had to be something good because this was one of those decisions that could very well be life or death – like any decision made these days. He looked to Beth and she looked so damn sad and one of her hands was now resting over her bump and he wondered if she even realized that she had placed it there.

"Aaron," Daryl said, startling the man from his thoughts. "Spencer."

The two looked at him.

"We're goin' out tomorrow," Daryl said. "We'll take the map and start lookin'." They all looked at him, waiting for him to continue. He turned his head and looked at Beth, his hand sliding onto her thigh beneath the table. He gave it a gentle squeeze and Beth covered his hand with hers, looking into his eyes. "We ain't leavin' these mountains, but we'll find a place that we can make our own."

"We still going to stay here for the winter?" Spencer asked.

They were all still looking at him.

Daryl felt his throat dry out and he did his best to swallow. "Yeah. We'll find a place so in the spring, we can move and get ourselves settled."

They were all quiet, thinking that over, and Daryl found himself wondering if that was the right plan of action to take. Should they move now? No, they couldn't. They didn't even have a house yet to move to and Mulligan had already said they could stay here.

"We trust you, Daryl," Rosita said.

"Of course we do," Aaron said.

"Sounds like a good plan," Spencer added.

Daryl exhaled a breath he hadn't realized he was holding and he felt Beth squeeze his hand. He squeezed back.

…

* * *

 **Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to review!**


	15. Clean

**Such a weird time for me to be updating, but with how busy my job is lately, I don't know anymore when I'll be able to update it and I want to update as soon as I finish a chapter. I hope you enjoy this one. Time will jump around a bit from chapter to chapter from now on and I'm not going to give the whole spoiler, but yes. Eventually, we will see original family again.**

* * *

…

 **Chapter Fifteen.** Clean.

Mulligan was right about the ground. It wasn't the best soil, but after a month of cultivating it, Beth had done her best. They had their tomatoes, potatoes, corn and she was also growing lavender everywhere; lavender still used in so much of her cooking and the medicines she put together and she didn't know what she would do without lavender. This garden wasn't as big as her old one, but seeing as they had only planted it a month ago, it was still an impressive one.

She had to sit down with her notebook and do her usual planning, but she was fairly certain they would all be able to get through winter. It would definitely help that they had chickens and goats to give them eggs and milk. They were growing corn more than anything, having learned that the corn could be ground down to flour and Beth cooked nearly everything in the kitchen with corn flour. But just in case, Anna had begun collecting acorns so those could be ground up for flour, too. Acorn flour wasn't any of their favorite, but it wasn't as if anyone could be picky nowadays.

Hearing the buzzes of insects, Beth turned her head and smiled as she always did as she watched fat bumblebees flying around her tomato plants, happily pollinating them for her. She was convinced that Mulligan finding and setting up the hives for the bees in the front yard of the house was one of the best things to happen to them. She had been reading about bee keeping in her book for the past few years, wishing they would be able to do it themselves, but even though they had looked, they had never been able to find all of the materials that were needed to build their own hives. It was just another reason why she was so grateful for Mulligan.

The man may have been gruff who liked to pretend he didn't care, but he was good.

She felt a slight flutter in her stomach and she smiled down at her bump – growing larger and rounder every day, it seemed. She placed her hand upon it even though she knew she wouldn't be able to feel it from the outside. She hadn't told anyone – not even Daryl, knowing that he would be disappointed he wouldn't be able to feel it yet for himself. Right now, the baby moved inside of her and it felt like how a goldfish swimming through her hands would feel.

She had about four more months to go and already, her arms ached. She couldn't wait to hold her baby in her arms and see whether it was a boy or a girl. She had already been thinking of names and she needed to discuss them with Daryl, still, but she hoped that he would like them. Eli for a boy; Cecily for a girl. Spencer and Rosita had named Aiden after Spencer's brother who had died, but she didn't know, if they had a boy, if she would want to name it after a family member. She would want their baby to be their own person and not live in someone else's shadow. But if they had a baby and Daryl wanted to name him Merle, Beth couldn't see herself arguing over it.

She heard a steady _thwack!_ outside of the fence and it was Spencer, splitting logs to bring in for the stove and fireplaces. Rosita was at the laundry lines, hanging the clothes they had washed earlier that morning to dry in the warming sun. Aiden was sitting in the grass by his mom, playing with the toy dump truck Daryl had brought back for him when he and Rosita had gone on that last run. The baby's happy giggles and chattering to himself in baby babble reached Beth's ears and it made her smile. She hoped hers and Daryl's baby had every reason to be as happy as Aiden was.

Looking to the far end of the yard where the barn was, Beth saw Anna out, throwing cracked corn down for the chickens to eat, the birds plucking the kernels up with their beaks and it was another reason why they needed corn. They had animals they had to keep fed. There was a feed store down the mountain that Mulligan had been able to raid of every last bag of food and it was piled up in the loft of the barn, but it would run out eventually and Beth needed to grow so much more corn next spring. Corn above all else. Corn was what kept them all alive.

Inside, Aaron was still sleeping in his room. He had been up the night before, keeping watch and had come inside to have himself a bowl of scrambled eggs before heading upstairs. Mulligan told them that they didn't need to keep watch, but that was one habit none of them were prepared to drop just yet.

And Daryl and Mulligan had gone somewhere. The two men had went outside to talk after dinner the night before, but about what, neither had said. Beth had asked when she and Daryl were lying in bed, but he had just shrugged and told her that they had talked about all kinds of things. Now, this morning, after eating their eggs, the two armed themselves and headed out, but they wouldn't tell anyone where they were going and when Spencer asked if he needed to go, too, Mulligan had said that they needed more fire wood and then he left.

Beth had looked up at Daryl, a bit confused, but he had just given her a slight shake of his head and kissed her lightly on the lips before following the man out.

That had been a couple of hours ago and though she knew that Daryl was safe – especially with Mulligan – she still kept looking towards the door of the gate, willing him to return and tell her where they had gone and what he was up to.

"Need some help?" Rosita asked, breaking through her thoughts.

"Yes," Beth laughed a little and Rosita helped her get back to her feet. Rosita then bent down and picked up the basket full to the brim with tomatoes. "Someone else is going to have to take over the garden after a few more weeks," Beth said as they headed back towards the cabin. "Or else, I'll need supervision to get me up again."

Rosita smiled a little as they stopped so she could heft Aiden up in her arms. "You know you don't even have to be in the garden now, Beth. What did we tell you? We will help with every single one of your jobs."

"I'm not going to be useless," Beth said as they stepped into the kitchen and she put the basket of tomatoes down on the table. It was time to get a jumpstart on canning.

Rosita snorted a little at that and with a roll of her eyes, she went and sat Aiden down on the rug in the living room. "Do you even know what that word means?" She came back to the kitchen. "Beth, you _do_ need to slow down eventually. That baby will start kicking your ass and you'll need your energy for that, not pulling weeds."

"The baby book said that in the second trimester, I'll start feeling like myself," Beth stated from the book that she had already read through three times. "And I'm in my second trimester right now. There's no need for me to sit down and kick up my feet and watch you guys do everything."

Rosita sighed heavily, but didn't say anything else. They heard the creaking of wood above their heads and a moment later, Aaron was coming down the stairs.

"Aaron," Rosita said before he could even step down from the bottom step. "Tell Beth that she needs to rest more."

Beth gave her a look, but Rosita just crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow as if begging her to start an argument with her about this. Beth decided that she wouldn't – and it _wasn't_ because she was starting to feel a little tired. It was because Rosita was like Maggie. They were relentless when it came to arguing.

"Get some rest," Aaron said and Beth rolled her eyes though a smile broke through.

"Did _you_ get enough?" Beth asked.

"Enough," he answered with a nod and went to the counter where they kept a container of cinnamon bark. "Where is everyone?" He looked down when he felt a pat on his foot and smiled when he saw that Aiden had walked to him. The baby was still wobbly on his legs and preferred crawling more times than not. Aaron bent down and lifted the boy up in his arm, eating the strip of bark with his other hand.

"Spencer's out, chopping wood, Anna's feeding the chickens and who the hell knows where Daryl and Mulligan are," Rosita answered as she sat down at the table and began going through the tomatoes in the basket.

Aaron looked at Beth curiously, but she could only shrug.

"They left as soon as they finished their breakfasts," Beth said. "They wouldn't tell any of us where they were going or what they were doing."

"Maybe they're house-hunting," Aaron suggested.

As Daryl had planned, he, Aaron and Spencer had gone out in search of a place they could take as their own when springtime came. They wanted to stay in these mountains and if possible, stay close to Mulligan. But every house they had come across hadn't been what they wanted for their family. Many of them had been falling apart before the turn and now, after years of neglect, not even they would be able to fix them up even if they worked on them every day from now until springtime.

"I wish Mulligan would let us stay," Rosita said what they were all thinking.

"He's been on his own for a long time now," Aaron said as he stepped forward and passed Aiden from his arms into Rosita's so he could get himself a cup of water. "I'm sure he's eager to be on his own again."

Beth remained quiet because this was probably her least favorite thing to think about; more than giving labor, which was absolutely terrifying to her if she _did_ think about it. She didn't like to think of having to leave this place after winter; especially right now when they didn't have a place to go to. She knew this wasn't their home and Mulligan had every right in the world to not allow them to live in his cabin. But she had just hoped that eventually, the gruff man would change his mind and let them stay and they would be able to put down their roots again.

She also didn't want to think about of how when they did leave, she would have a little baby that she wouldn't be able to put down safely anywhere until they had their own roof over their heads.

She had told herself not to, but Beth had fallen in love with Mulligan's cabin. Ever since they talked about _Harry Potter_ when Anna moved into the room beneath the stairs, Beth realized that the cabin reminded her of the Weasley burrow – and she was sure that that's why she loved it so much. It was strong and cozy and sometimes, it was hard to remember that the world had ended because they had hand pumps that gave them fresh water from the creek and fireplaces and a wood burning oven where Beth could bake her bread.

It was perfect and Beth didn't want to think about saying goodbye to it.

"I'm going to go take a bath in the creek," Beth said, her morning working in the garden having made her sticky with sweat.

"Need me to come?" Rosita asked.

"No. I have my knife. I won't be too far and I won't be gone too long," she said.

She went into hers and Daryl's bedroom to get herself a towel – a beach towel with a faded design of goldfish on it – and her bar of soap and then went out the back door. Anna was still at the barn, now seeing to the goats, and she would be there most of the day. Mulligan had made Anna his official helper taking care of the animals and it was a job that Anna took very seriously. Beth could also hear the _thwack!_ of Spencer still chopping wood. When she stepped through the gate, stepping out from the yard, she moved away in the opposite direction of where Spencer was. She promised not to go too far away and she kept her word, walking to the creek and following the slight bend that would give her a small amount of privacy behind a clump of bushes.

She didn't get herself completely naked and she stripped herself down to her bra and today, she word a pair of men's boxer briefs and actually, she found herself not completely hating when she had to wear men's underwear.

There was a rock large and flat enough for her to sit on and she kept her knife sheathed on it as she slowly and carefully slipped from it into the cold water. It had taken some getting used to – bathing outdoors. Never any hot water, a complete lack of privacy, a fear that someone – living or dead – could walk upon her. But now, bathing herself in a creek or pond was second nature to her.

She lathered the bar of soap in the water and her hands and then began washing her skin. She dunked herself quickly under the water, wetting her hair, and she then washed that with the bar of soap as well. Rosita had cut her hair short – a little longer than her shoulders – a couple of summers ago to help her deal with the heat and Beth has kept the length since. It was easier to maintain and still long enough to throw up in a ponytail or pull back into a braid if she wanted.

She scrubbed it clean, scratching her fingers across her scalp, before she dunked beneath the surface again, washing it off, only staying for a moment before popping her head back up once more. She felt the fluttering in her stomach and Beth smiled, resting a hand on her stomach, running the bar of soap in circles over the tight skin.

"You're not as sneaky as you think," she then said.

She didn't have to turn towards him to know that he was smirking, but she did turn to see Daryl approaching the creek and sure enough, he was smirking. He kept his eyes on her as he came to sit on the rock, his crossbow across his thighs.

"Shouldn' be out here alone," he said.

Beth shrugged. "I'm not alone. You're here." She gave him a smile and he smirked again. She continued running the bar of soap over her stomach, smiling faintly to herself. The baby was certainly active this afternoon.

"You can feel it." Daryl said it as a statement rather than posing a question.

Beth nodded, lifting her eyes to him. "I didn't want to tell you because I knew you would be disappointed that you couldn't feel it yet, too."

"You gotta tell me everythin', Beth," Daryl responded. "I wanna _know_ everythin'."

"I know," she said, but she wondered if he noticed that she didn't promise that she would. He probably did. Daryl always noticed everything. "I think you'll be able to feel the baby in another month," she said. "If it's a boy, do you want to name him after Merle?" She then asked him.

Daryl nearly snorted at that. "Hell no," was his answer and Beth couldn't help but smile, wondering if her relief at that was evident on her face, but it must have been because Daryl looked at her and he gave an actual smile – not just a smirk or the upwards flick of his lips he sometimes did. "What are your names?" He asked.

Beth took a deep breath as if she was about to give a grand speech in front of an auditorium full of people. "Eli or Cecily," she said, turning in the water so she was facing him and she sank a little lower into the water so it came to her shoulders as if she was embarrassed though she knew there was absolutely no reason for her to be. They were just names and if Daryl didn't like them, they would think of others.

Daryl was quiet for another moment. He then gave his head a single nod. "They're fine," he said and Beth's smile was instant because she had known this man long enough and she knew that in Daryl talk, he was completely onboard with both names. "You been in there long?" He asked.

"It feels good. You should come in," she suggested.

"Nah, I'm a'righ'," he refused just like she knew that he would.

"It's been a few days," Beth continued as if he hadn't said anything at all. "You should come in," she said again.

"Gonna keep harpin' on me 'til I do?" Daryl guessed.

"Yep," she giggled and again, he smiled.

She watched as he slid from the rock and setting his crossbow down in his place, he began by unlacing his boots and sliding them off. Then his jeans and his tee-shirt and socks, leaving his boxers on. He no longer hid his back like he used to. The family had all seen his back already at one careless time or another and Daryl had moved on from his scars. They were in the past and they weren't who he was anymore.

Beth smiled, swimming back as Daryl joined her in the creek. He dunked himself beneath the water, wetting his hair. Beth smiled as she lathered up the bar of soap in her hands and then took it upon herself to start washing his hair, scratching her fingers through his scalp and watching as his eyes closed at the ministration.

"How was your morning?" Beth asked, feeling his hands beneath the water, one coming to a rest on her hip as the other came to a rest over her stomach as if, even though he knew he couldn't feel the baby, he was still going to try to.

Daryl's eyes remained closed and he smirked a little. "Was expectin' you to ask me that a lot sooner."

Beth stopped shampooing and pulled on his hair and Daryl cracked that rare toothy smile of his that always made her smile, too. And today, it was no different. He opened his eyes and sure enough, she was smiling.

"Daryl, tell me," she said and began washing his hair again.

"I got an idea las' night after dinner when Anna was readin' us her book," he began.

Anna's book – at the moment – was _Swiss Family Robinson_ and to continue her education, she read out loud to them almost every night.

Beth just kept scratching her fingers over his scalp and waited for him to go on.

"Afterwards, me and Mulligan were talkin' and this mornin', we went out to start."

"Start what?" Beth asked.

"Mulligan's not makin' us leave in the spring," Daryl said and Beth's fingers stilled in his hair as she gasped sharply.

"Really?" She asked in a whisper, almost too afraid to ask in case it wasn't true.

Daryl shrugged and both of his hands were on her stomach now. "Said he likes havin' us 'round and he likes your cookin'."

She smiled a little at that, but she didn't say anything, wanting him to continue.

"But space is already gettin' tight and we haven't even had the kid yet," Daryl went on. "So me and Mulligan were talkin'." He paused for just a moment. "I'm gonna build us a tree house."

Beth blinked at him for a moment. She had never expected him to say that.

"What?" She managed to get out.

"We were talkin'. We think that big oak he's got near your garden would be the best and then we were walkin' 'round, taking stock of the wood from the houses and nails. I've got my tools and it'll take me all winter to build, but I'm thinkin' I should have it finished in the spring," Daryl was saying and he was saying so much, it was taking Beth's brain seconds delay in catching up. Daryl never talked this much. Not even to her. "That way, you, me and our baby can move in there and the others will get a bit more room to spread out in the house."

Beth stared at him, still unable to think of something to say. And the longer she was quiet, Daryl's face began to fall until it was void and blank of any emotion.

He shrugged. "I don't have to," he said and he said it as if it didn't matter to him one way or the other, but Beth wasn't fooled. He had already started putting this idea into motion even if he hasn't started building it yet.

"Daryl," Beth said and her hands fell down to rest on his shoulders because she knew what he was doing. He was thinking she was rejecting it – rejecting _him_ – and Daryl was closing himself off as a way to show that it wasn't going to hurt him.

He looked at her and said nothing else.

"A tree house," Beth said, her mind still playing catch up.

She imagined the tree houses that she had seen when she was a kid. Little boxes up in trees with a door to crawl through and a couple of windows with no room to stand up straight or to have anything inside except overturned milk crates that served as both seats and tables.

"It ain't gonna be like that, Beth," Daryl said, watching her and obviously able to read her thoughts. "It'll be a house that's in a tree. I got plans."

"Tell me," she said softly, her hands almost gripping his shoulders as if to hold on and keep herself steady.

"The whole thing is gonna be out of wood and I'm gonna insulate it so we don't freeze in the winter. I'll build you anythin' you wan'. A seat in the window for you to read or a desk so you can write in your journal. I'll build the baby their own room and it'll overlook your garden because it'll be the best view in the whole house."

Beth smiled at that, feeling her eyes becoming watery because the image of it was beautiful. She could imagine it. Maybe it wasn't such a crazy idea. If anyone could build them a house in a tree, it was Daryl. He was the most amazing man she had ever met and if this was what he wanted to do then this was what he was going to do and it was be absolutely amazing.

"It's going to be amazing," Beth said in a quiet voice.

Daryl stared at her, studying her, making sure that she was actually meaning it.

"I'm gonna make it amazin'," Daryl said as if promising it to her though he didn't have to do that. If Daryl was going to build them a house in a tree, then Beth had no doubt that he was going to do anything less than that.

Beth smiled and nodded and feeling tears well in her eyes, she leaned in and circling her arms around his shoulders, she kissed him. As Daryl's arms went around her waist, pulling her in as close to him as she could be to him, Beth felt baby Eli or baby Cecily fluttering around inside.

It all seemed perfect and strange at the same time and absolutely positive and she felt like laughing so she did, her lips still pressed to his.

Daryl pulled his head back just far enough to look into her eyes and he was smiling a little, too. "Learned a few things for all the books we've read. A man can build 'imself an entire house out on the prairie with nothin' but some wood and a saw. Think I can manage buildin' a house in a tree for us."

And when Beth laughed again, he gave her another smile showing her his teeth.

…

* * *

 **Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to review!**


	16. Fry

**The more I do research for this story, the more I just want to bang my head on the desk with how little the people on the show try and learn anything about surviving. Also, I have found a picture of inspiration of Mulligan and will be posting it on my Tumblr under the "Fifty Four Days" tag where I post many other pictures of inspiration. Thank you, as always, for your continued support of this story. I really can't tell you how much it means to me, because I just love writing this one so much.**

* * *

…

 **Chapter Sixteen.** Fry.

"Lookin' a little janky to me," Mulligan said from the ground below.

Daryl lifted his head and frowned down at the man. "What the hell you mean?"

"Janky," Mulligan said again. "Crooked."

Daryl kept frowning. "You and your damn mountain talk," he grumbled and Mulligan heard him and he just grinned.

Daryl took out his leveling ruler and set it down on the planks of wood he was setting down for the house's floor. He then set down a nail to see if it would roll. It didn't. But he wanted to get a look at it from the ground himself. At the moment, to get up and down, he had a ladder Mulligan had pulled from his shed and Daryl climbed down that now, joining the other man on the ground. They stood side by side, looking up at what Daryl had started building a couple mornings ago.

He had gotten started as soon as he could, wanting to get as much of it up and built as he could before winter set in. Right now, summer was waning. The garden was getting picked cleaned and Beth spent all day in the kitchen, canning their vegetables in preparation of winter coming. Daryl took the horse and the wagon and went to the houses Mulligan had already showed him and with Spencer and Aaron helping, he began stripping the house of wood and nails. He would return to get the glass for windows later.

Everyone – except for Beth – was helping him out. She was busy enough, doing everything she did each year at the end of the summer that got them ready for colder days. In his head, Daryl could just imagine how their tree house would turn out and he could only hope that the picture in his head was actually possible to build. He didn't know why it couldn't be. The oak he and Mulligan had picked was a good, strong tree and the branches were spread out wide enough, it seemed as if it was just begging for a house to be built in it.

He had chosen an octagon shape and the past couple of days had been spent, measuring and cutting the planks of wood and this morning, he began building the frame that it would set on and laying the planks down for the floor.

At the moment though, it was just Daryl and Mulligan outside, everyone else inside, helping Beth in the kitchen as she slowly filled the shelves in the root cellar with their food supply in the jars they had found and saved over the past few years.

"Looks fine to me," Daryl said as he looked up to the floor boards in the tree. "Think you might jus' be crooked."

"Well, that is a possibility," Mulligan admitted and Daryl felt himself smile a little.

"Daryl?"

Both men instantly turned when they heard Beth and watched as she came out of the house, walking towards them. Daryl swore that she was getting bigger every day and he figured they only had a couple of months left now. The baby was kicking a lot now, too, which was both amazing and downright terrifying all at the same time. The first time Daryl had felt their baby kick his hand, he had almost jumped back. Beth had just laughed though and taking his hand, she brought it back to her stomach, placing it there and keeping it there as the baby kicked his palm again.

And if seeing her bump had made him freak-out, actually feeling their baby kick his hand had driven him with fierce determination. The baby was coming and Daryl was going to build a house for both him or her and Beth. If he had to build it in snow or sleet, that's what he would do. He didn't have that much time and he wondered if he would be able to do this at all. He hated the idea of promising Beth a tree house only to fail in the end in delivering it to her.

"I'm off to go picking," she said.

Daryl could argue with her, he knew, but he'd just be wasting his breath.

He gave a nod. "Who's comin' with you?"

"Everyone. You and Mulligan are the only ones staying," she said and then looked up to the boards in the tree and Daryl watched as a smile bloomed across her face. She then looked back to the two men. "Any requests?" She asked.

"Get me some sassafras," Mulligan said. He liked to chew on the bark and it was a habit that Anna had picked up on as well. Sassafras – years ago – was originally used to make root beer and he said that when he chewed it, he swore he could taste it. He and Anna liked to chew on the bark as they worked out in the barn.

Beth smiled and nodded. "Anna already has it on our list."

Mulligan grinned at that. "We're teachin' that girl right."

Beth's smile grew a little wider at that. She then looked to Daryl. "And I have a surprise for you for dinner tonight," she said. "We'll be gone most of the afternoon and when we get back, I'll start on it."

"Wha' is it?" Daryl asked.

"I'm not telling, Daryl. That's why it's called a surprise," she laughed a little.

Daryl couldn't help but frown a little. "You don't gotta be cookin' me special meals, Beth," he said and it wasn't the first time he had said it to her, but she never seemed to let the words register in her mind.

And now, Beth just smiled. "You're building us a house. I think the least I can do is feed you dinner." With that, she stood on her toes and gave him a quick kiss. "See you later," she said.

She turned and began walking towards the house and Daryl followed after her.

"You're doin' too much," he said to her in a low voice.

She laughed. "Says the man who's building us a tree house."

"Yeah, well I'm also not the one carryin' 'round a bowlin' ball," he frowned at her. He knew Beth was a damn stubborn woman, but he didn't understand why it was so damn hard for her to just sit down or take a nap every once in a while.

"I'm fine, Daryl," she said as they stepped into the kitchen.

"That's become your damn theme song, you know that?" He frowned deeper at her.

Beth seemed to choose to ignore that comment.

In the kitchen, everyone was getting ready to go, arming themselves with weapons and baskets alike so they could carry back everything they foraged along the way.

"If you and Mulligan get hungry, there are a few slices of cornbread left and you know where everything else is if you're hungry for something else," Beth said.

Daryl nodded and then looked to everyone else. "Take care of her out there," he said to no one in particular.

"You know we will," Spencer was the one to speak up.

Beth turned to Daryl and gave him a small smile. "Don't work too hard," she said.

Daryl leaned down and gave him a soft kiss. "See you when you get back."

He followed them all out the back door, to the door in the fence. Even Aiden was coming with them – Rosita wanting him to start being aware of the plants they could eat even though he was barely two – and Daryl stood and watched as they all headed from the yard, into the trees. Beth turned and saw him watching and she gave him a smile and wave.

Daryl did his best to smile at her in return, but he didn't think he was able to manage it. He knew that she was safe with the others – Rosita, Spencer and Aaron – but he really hated the idea of her going out there, especially so heavily pregnant, without him. But he was making good progress on the house and he wanted to keep working. He wanted Beth to have a place that was just their own, after the baby was born. And hopefully, when the baby was born, she would finally slow down and rest.

He didn't really understand why Beth was still so stubborn about proving herself. She didn't have to prove a thing to anyone; not when she was the reason they were all still alive. That was the way it worked between them. He kept her safe and Beth kept him alive. Beth did that for them all. Who the hell else of them would know that cold pine needle tea helped with coughing? He thought of when people had started getting sick in the prison. Hershel had been the one to think of medicine that could be used from the woods and Daryl sometimes thought what

Some days, he wished their old family could see them now. See Beth and everything that she could do. He bet none of their old family knew the first thing about cooking with lavender or what mushrooms and forest greens were safe to eat.

Taking two pieces of the leftover cornbread from dinner the night before, Daryl went back outside, finding Mulligan now up in the tree, sanding one of the planks. Daryl climbed up the ladder to join him.

"What do you think?" Daryl asked, coming to stand next to him, holding out a piece of the cornbread towards him.

Mulligan was on his knees, but as he took the bread, he swung his legs around so he was sitting on his butt, his legs dangling over the side. He nodded as he chewed.

"Ain't gonna be a bad place. Will be a good size for you and missus," he replied. "Jus' gotta make sure we get you one of the wood stoves from another house."

"That's gonna take all of us to move it and get it up here," Daryl said though he knew that was a necessity. He couldn't expect Beth and their baby to live without a stove – not only to cook on, if she wanted, but to also keep the whole place warm. The insulation he would add between the walls wouldn't be enough. Not in the mountains in the winter.

And then he thought about having their baby and Beth live in a tree house. Was this a stupid idea and no one was bothering to tell him?

Mulligan just shrugged and took an almost too-big bite of cornbread. "We'll manage," he said through a full mouth.

Daryl took a bite of his own bread and he looked at the view of the surrounding trees that they got from what would soon be his and Beth's tree house and not that far off, he could see the rise of other mountains and it was all quiet except for birds chirping and the wind rustling leaves in the trees. Daryl wondered if he would ever get used to the quiet they got up here.

He heard a snap of a branch not that far off and Mulligan heard it, too. Both looked and through the green foliage, they saw a familiar shape slowly lumbering in their direction. Mulligan stood up and brushed crumbs from his hands.

"'ll take care of it. You start cuttin' more wood," he said.

When Mulligan returned from killing the walker, he and Daryl spent the rest of their day, cutting and measuring and pounding the bottom frame and the floor in place. It took them until the sun was beginning to sink below the western mountains and both were dripping in sweat despite the nip in the breeze that blew.

"Perfect timing," Mulligan commented when they heard the door of the fence open and Anna came hurrying into the yard first.

"Mulligan! I got our sassafras!" She informed him happily, holding up her basket.

"That a girl," Mulligan grinned at her and Anna beamed.

Beth entered the yard next and Daryl hurried to take the two heavy baskets from her hands, amazed at how heavy and filled they were.

"You're as bad as Spencer and Aaron," Beth teased. She was sweaty and a little dirty, but it must have been a good afternoon because her smile was one of happiness. Daryl admitted that he couldn't wait to see what they had brought back with them.

On the kitchen table, everyone began unloading their baskets and pillowcases, Beth giving instructions of how to separate it all and keep it all in order.

Blackberries, huckleberries, mulberries and wild grapes. Piles of them. Dandelions. Purple flowering chicory plants. Scallions. Wintergreen. Wood Sorrel. Chicken of the Woods. Chanterelle mushrooms. Tree bark. So much and knowing Beth, she was going to prepare it all and can it and use it for them for the rest of the winter.

"Damn, woman," Daryl breathed from beside her and Beth laughed softly.

"It was a good day," she agreed. "Did you have a good day?"

"Me and Mulligan got the floor laid down," Daryl said and he smiled a little when she gasped with surprise, her smile, somehow, growing in size.

Without a word, she turned to him and put her arms around his neck, hugging him as tightly as she could, and Daryl squeezed his arms around her in return. He loved their kid, but he couldn't wait for Beth to not be pregnant anymore. He missed having her body right up against his. He wondered if Beth missed it, too.

"Well, now, you have definitely earned your dinner," she said, pulling her head back and looking up at him with a smile.

"Gonna tell me what it is?" He asked.

"Nope," she answered with a smile just like he knew she would. "But you can stay in here while I'm making it."

As the others went in and out of the kitchen, seeing to their other chores or helping separate their finds and getting them out of the way so they could be prepared, Beth washing her hands and began making dinner, Daryl sitting at the table and watching her, using the opportunity to sharpen his knives.

She pulled out two large fish that he figured Mulligan must have caught for her that morning sometime and they had already been cleaned and cut. She then pulled out one of their bottles of vegetable oil. It was expired, but she still used it, and they had five other bottles as part of their extreme couponer's supply. She took the Dutch oven Mulligan let her use and poured nearly the entire bottle of oil into it before placing it on the stove over the flames. Daryl admitted that he began watching her more than paying attention to sharpening his knives.

"What the hell are you doin'?" He couldn't help but ask.

Beth just smiled at him from over her shoulder and didn't answer. Instead, she pulled out next to container of white flour.

"Beth!"

Anna entered, cradling one egg and three potatoes she had freshly dug up.

"Perfect," Beth beamed at her, taking them from her and setting them on the counter. "Aaron," she said and Aaron, separating the berries into different piles, left the table, to come to her at the counter. She handed him one of the potatoes and he smiled, taking it from her as he took a knife.

Daryl's brow furrowed a little as he kept watching them. They clearly had talked about this over today. And Daryl still had no idea what was going on. It was only when the oil was so hot on the stove, smoke was rising from it, and Beth had dipped the pieces of fish in egg and coated with flour, did it snap in Daryl's head like a light bulb. He stood up without even realizing it. He couldn't believe what she was doing.

It had been one of those conversations he and Beth had had in bed, when it was pitch black outside and both were so tired from the day, they could hardly move and both talked slowly and softly, on the verge of falling asleep at any second.

"What's one thing you really miss from before?" Beth had asked him.

They were both on their sides, facing one another, and Daryl was falling asleep with his hand on her stomach, feeling their kid rolling around inside as if they were shifting positions to get comfortable before going to sleep.

"Don't think I miss too much of anythin' 'cept for Merle sometimes," he answered.

"No food?" She pressed.

"Hard for me to miss food when I'm with you and you're makin' me fat with everythin' you make for me," he joked, his eyes closed, but even with them closed, Daryl could feel Beth smiling and blushing. And sure enough, still without opening his eyes, he lifted a hand to her cheek and it feel its warmth against his skin.

She nestled a little closer to him and he thought silently for a moment.

"Merle always dragged me to this one bar. Place I wouldn' wan' you to even drive past let alone go in," he began to tell her. "Hated it in there. Merle always got into fights and I always had to get him out of it. But it was weird. Place was a shithole, but there was a lady who worked in the back kitchen and she was actually a cook. Think she wen' to college and everythin' for it. People would prob'ly get stabbed, playin' a game of pool, but they never stopped comin' to the bar because the food there was that good."

"What was your favorite thing to eat there?" Beth asked him.

Daryl didn't even have to think about it. "She made the best fish and chips. Served 'em on newspaper jus' like they did, I guess, over in Europe. They were greasy and hot and the best damn thin' I ever ate in my life. Got 'em whenever I could and sometimes, I'll still drool jus' thinkin' 'bout 'em, to be honest."

And now, he watched as Beth took a piece of the floured fish and carefully dropped it into the scalding hot oil.

"Are you kiddin'?" Daryl asked and Beth looked at him, seeing him frown heavily at her and she matched it with a furrowed brow.

"What?" She asked. "Mulligan had the fish and we had the oil and flour."

Daryl just kept staring at her. "You're makin' us fried fish?" He asked as if he couldn't really believe it.

"Well, I'm _trying_ to. And Aaron's cutting up the fries right now to throw in the oil when I'm done," she said and then turned away, taking a pair of tongs from their canister of other collected kitchen utensils. "If it completely fails, we know we can't make it and it's not like we'll be making it constantly. This is using a lot of oil."

She reached into the pot and pulled out the piece of fried breaded fish, setting it down on the plate next to the stove on the counter before taking the next coated piece, placing it into the boiling oil.

"Beth, stop," Daryl said, walking around the table and going to her. "Stop, Beth."

She looked at him, frowning. "Why?"

He swallowed and looked down at the piece of golden brown fish on the plate. He shook his head. "This don't seem right," he then said.

"Why?" Beth asked again, looking at him.

From the corner of his eye, he could see Aaron cutting up the potatoes into fries. He looked at Beth and she looked up at him, looking confused and a little hurt.

He swallowed. He wasn't sure why he didn't want this. He just knew that he didn't. It was sweet of Beth to try and do this for him, but like he said. Doing this didn't seem right. "The world ended, Beth. There are dead people walkin' all over and you're makin' us fish and chips for dinner?"

"We can, Daryl, so why shouldn't we?" She asked, not understanding.

And truth be told, Daryl didn't really understand either. Over the years, it became obvious to them all that Beth could make plenty of things that they used to eat. She could make them fresh bread and goat cheese, for fuck's sake. Why shouldn't she make fish and chips if that was what she wanted to make them for dinner?

"Jus' stop," he said without answered her question. "I don't wan' it."

Beth's wounded expression was more obvious on her face now and she visibly swallowed. "Alright," she said softly. She turned away from him and with the tongs, she took out the piece of fresh that was now deeply fried and set it on the plate.

"Aaron, you can make the fries now if you want," she said and then without looking at Daryl, she moved past him and taking the basket of chicory plants, she went into their bedroom, closing the door behind her.

Daryl stood there, feeling a weight in his chest. Aaron took her place at the stove, and coating the next piece of fish, he dropped it into the oil.

"Just because the world ended doesn't mean we still can't have a life," Aaron said and that was all he said.

Daryl was quiet as he looked to the bedroom door.

With a deep breath, he then went to it. It was an old door with no lock, but he pushed it open slowly nonetheless. Beth was sitting on the bed, separating the plant into small bouquets like she always did when she picked plants and she would tie them and then hang them upside down to dry them out.

Chicory could be used to help treat internal parasites. If the animals got sick, the chicory could help them get better. And for the humans, the chicory could help with everything from gallstones, constipation and sinus problems.

Daryl closed the door behind him and then came to the bed. He didn't sit on it though and join her. Instead, he went to the wall, turning around and facing her, leaning against it. Beth didn't say anything as she worked.

"It means a lot to me that you would go through so much trouble for me," he said, his hands shoved into the front pockets of his jeans.

"That's the thing, Daryl. It wasn't any trouble," Beth commented, not looking at him.

Daryl wasn't too sure what to say to that because he knew that even if it had been some huge pain in the ass, Beth would never admit it.

"Maybe I don't wan' you goin' through so much trouble for me when you should be restin'," he said.

"That's bullshit," she said, nearly snorting. She shook her head and continued making her bouquets. "I think you're feeling guilty that you're still alive and that we're doing well for ourselves."

"Why the hell would I feel guilty 'bout that?" He frowned at her.

Beth shrugged and finally lifted her eyes to him. "You tell me. I think you think about all of those times where we didn't have it easy. After the farm and with Lori and T-Dog and Merle and my daddy and the Governor and now, here we are with food and security and a place to sleep at night and we're about to have a baby and I think sometimes you hate it."

Daryl wasn't sure why, but he found himself getting angry. All over fish and chips? That couldn't be it, but he didn't know why he couldn't get himself to calm down.

"You don't know what the hell you're talkin' bout, Beth," he almost growled at her.

Beth didn't seem intimidated though. She just tilted her head slightly and looked at him closely. "No?" She questioned. "So, you _never_ think about Rick and what happened to him and Carl and Judith and the others? And how sometimes, you still feel guilty that we weren't able to find them and you can only hope that they're doing as good as we are?"

"Rick's got nothin' to do with this," Daryl snapped. "This is 'bout you wastin' our supplies so you can make somethin' as stupid as fish and chips!"

"I'm alive, Daryl, and I'm going to keep living and I'm not going to apologize for it!"

Daryl had to get out of there. He was angry and he still had no idea why – which only made him angrier.

Without another word to her, he stormed out of the room, grabbed his crossbow on the way out and kept on storming until he was on the other side of the fence and in the woods, but he didn't stop. He just kept on storming.

…

* * *

 **Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to leave a review.**


	17. Hole

**The Dixon baby will be born in the next chapter and from now, time is going to be jumping around quite a bit because there is a lot of story I still need/want to tell. Also, I don't read the comics so I don't know how important - or un-important - Spencer is and I know he doesn't really matter on the show, but I really enjoy writing and building his character for my story.**

 **As always, thank you for supporting and loving this story.**

* * *

…

 **Chapter Seventeen.** Hole.

"You can't sneak up on anybody for shit," Daryl frowned as he watched Spencer walking towards him.

"I'm not trying to sneak up on you," Spencer smiled at him. "I'm just out for a stroll."

Daryl kept frowning, standing in his spot as Spencer came to where he was. "Beth send you?" He asked, his voice sounding gruff even to his own ears.

He was still angry, yes, but he still had no idea why. It couldn't be just because Beth was going to make him something special for dinner. It wasn't the first time she had done that for him and he had never gone off on her before because of it. Why this time? He didn't know what the hell was the matter with him. Maybe Beth was right. Maybe sometimes, he _did_ hate that he had survived and was doing so good.

"No," Spencer shook his head. "She said to leave your stubborn ass out here."

Daryl didn't doubt that Beth had said that. He looked at Spencer. "So, why are you here then?"

Spencer shrugged. "Told you. Just felt like a stroll."

Daryl always got the feeling that if he had a younger brother, he would be just like Spencer, and he sometimes wondered if Merle ever considered Daryl to be like Spencer was. Spencer _had_ been someone's little brother and with Daryl and Aaron both older than him, maybe he just naturally fell into that role when around them.

The guy had changed over the years that Daryl had known him, that was for sure. When Daryl and Beth first met the others, Spencer had clearly been behind a fence for too long. He was green behind the ears and well-fed and when Beth offered them some of her soup she made with forest greens, dandelions and mushrooms, Daryl remembered the way Spencer's nose had wrinkled up at the bowl handed to him.

But either in this new world, people changed or people didn't survive long. When they left him and Beth to go to Texas – to where Rosita was originally from – they never talked about what happened when they got back a few months later. But he and Beth didn't need details to know that it was bad. They came back with a goat and a little girl and there was no more Eric and Aaron's eyes were dull at the loss.

They all looked older than when they left. Older and tired and Beth and Daryl were just relieved that almost all of them had come back, alive.

Daryl had noted the changes in Spencer almost immediately. Daryl always noticed things like that about a person. Spencer was quieter, stronger, and was usually because the first one to volunteer when Daryl needed help with something. And seeing him become a dad, Daryl noted the change in him that he noted in Rosita. They were both strong, but they were oftentimes more scared than the others of decisions that they made – always thinking of their son.

Daryl knew that he and Beth would be the same when their own baby was born. Hell, they were like that right now. Everything he did, Beth and the baby was on his mind – except when he stormed out, throwing a tantrum over fish and chips.

They fell into step with one another as they began walking once more. Daryl didn't know where he was going and Spencer didn't ask, but Daryl kept his eye out for everything – other people though Mulligan and Mick combed this mountain daily for other people, "intruders", he called them – as well as walkers and maybe an animal they could have tomorrow.

"My brother, Aiden, was the first born son," Spencer began talking. "And in my family, they were an old-school family and that meant everything to them. My parents had such high hopes for him. Law School. Medical School. Maybe even run for Senate. But as he grew it up, it was obvious that Aiden wanted none of that so when I was born, all of my parents' old hopes and dreams for Aiden became what they wanted for me. And I wasn't like Aiden. I wanted to make mom and dad happy and if they wanted me to go to Law School then that's what I would do."

Daryl didn't say anything; just listened. He realized he didn't know much of anything about Spencer before the turn except he was studying Law and he had an older brother, who he named his son after.

"Aiden never knew what he wanted to do. He was a good student, but he never cared. He just cared about girls and having fun. And everyone just loved him. They said he was the fun one and I was the loser, but they never said that in front of him because Aiden had punched a few people who said anything about me.

"My parents were always so disappointed in him, but I was always so jealous of him. He was everything I could never be." Spencer let out a sigh. "But then the world ended and suddenly, Aiden was the one to be. He was crazy and brave and strong and who gives a shit about the defamation laws of the United States when there are dead people walking around?"

He got quiet then and Daryl glanced over, wondering if he was done.

"Sometimes, I'm mad at myself and I feel guilty that he died and I'm still alive."

Daryl frowned at that, but he didn't know what to say because wasn't that why he stormed out of the cabin and got himself away from Beth? She knew him better than everything and she had hit the nail on the head even if even he didn't know it at that second. He hated that they were having something as normal as fish and chips for dinner; that they were _able_ to have anything that even looked like fish and chips while he had no idea what happened to Rick or any of the others.

Were they dead? Were they alive? And if they were alive, were they able to eat? Rosita had said that they had showed up at the fenced in community, Alexandria, but were they still there? Were they still safe? He hated that he didn't know and he hated that he even cared because they obviously wrote him and Beth off years ago.

"Do you ever think…" Daryl began to say and then stopped himself, clearing his throat as if it was scratching him. "Do you ever think we have it too easy?"

Spencer snorted at that. "Hell, no."

Daryl looked at him and he wondered if he looked surprised because Spencer looked at him and gave a little smirk.

"Rosita had a baby. Beth's about to have a baby. Beth got hemlock poisoning. Our house was ripped apart by a freaking hurricane. We're now living with a man who's awesome, but you know he's short a few cards of having a full deck."

Daryl couldn't help but smirk a little at that description of Mulligan.

"I think we're lucky as shit. That doesn't mean we haven't worked our asses off."

Daryl was quiet, thinking that through. It felt like forever ago, but Beth had been sick. That was why they had stopped in that subdivision and had stayed at that house. She had almost gotten raped and they barely had any food and slowly, they came to the decision to stay and they began reading and figuring out what they had to do to live. Not just survive, but live.

"I wasn't a good guy," Daryl said in a low, gruff voice. "Before all this."

He saw Spencer shake his head at that.

"I don't believe that."

A simple statement and it was all Spencer said to that.

They kept walking and Daryl knew they would have to turn back soon. It was getting dark and once night fell, the mountain became pitch black and with the leaves still on the trees, so thick in some areas, they couldn't even see the stars. He was a big enough dick already. He didn't need to be out here after dark and have Beth worry. She had plenty of things to worry about other than her big-ass baby husband.

Hearing a rustle in a passing brush, both Daryl and Spencer immediately turned towards it, Daryl's crossbow lifted to his face and aimed, and Spencer's fingers tightening around the handle of his machete. Daryl took a step towards the brush and Spencer stayed behind, watching his back.

As soon as the noise revealed itself and came tearing from the brush, Daryl didn't hesitate in firing his crossbow into the object, a squeal of a pig answering and then silence. Daryl had heard that there were wild boars in the Appalachian Mountains, but he had yet to see one. Until now.

"Holy shit," Spencer breathed out from behind him.

Daryl didn't say anything. He couldn't stop looking at the animal with Daryl's bolt piercing its heart. Had to be a hundred pounds if not more. He had only seen a wild boar once during a hunting weekend that he and Merle had gone and taken together. Daryl had tried to take the shot, but his bolt had pissed and the boar went squealing and high-tailing it out of there. Merle had sworn up and down, but then Daryl remembered that his brother had sighed and seemed to almost instantly calm down.

"Things are filled with nothin' but parasites anyway," Merle had grumbled.

"Do you think Beth can make us bacon?" Spencer asked.

Daryl stared at the dead animal in the growing darkness. "Don't know…"

He didn't know if he wanted to bring it back to the cabin with them if they couldn't tell whether the animal was safe to eat or not – even if just the _idea_ of bacon was making his stomach grumble.

He stepped forward to get his bolt back and as he stepped forward, through a blanket of long-dead leaves, he felt the ground give away. The branches that had been placed down carefully to cover the hole gave away and as they fell, Daryl fell with them. He heard Spencer shout out his name, but then his body hit the ground at the bottom of the hole – hard – and Daryl didn't hear anything else.

…

His eyes snapped open and he had no idea where he was, but after a moment of confusion, his brain became sharply aware.

He was back home. In his and Beth's bedroom, in their bed. He was on his back, looking up at the familiar wooden ceiling. It was light outside and he wondered if it was the next day or if he had been out for longer than that.

How the hell had Spencer gotten him back here?

The room was empty and he lifted his head from the pillow, but he immediately regretted it. His entire body screamed in pain and he clenched his eyes shut again, falling back again. Yeah, sitting up was definitely not going to happen.

Daryl opened his eyes again and managed to look down at his body. He wasn't wearing a shirt and someone – he hoped Beth – had gotten him into a pair of sweatpants. He was also wrapped in gauze. His right arm and much of his stomach and chest. And between the gauze and his skin, he felt something sticky, but he had no idea what it was.

Where the hell was Beth?

The cabin sounded so quiet.

But then, as if they had been reading his thoughts, the bedroom door creaked open and Daryl turned his head on the pillow to see Beth enter with Anna behind her. She was holding Aiden in her arms and the baby seemed to be the first one to realize that he was awake because he let out some sort of happy squeal at the sight of him.

"You're awake," Anna then said, smiling happily.

"Yeah," Daryl grunted and forgetting he shouldn't sit up, he tried to again, only for his body to scream once more and Beth put a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Don't. Lay down," she said in a quiet voice.

She was holding a bowl of something and she sat down on the edge of the bed beside him, placing the bowl on the bed on the other side of him. Daryl saw that it was cabbage leaves and he realized he should have already guessed it. It was one of Beth's old home remedies that she had read about in one of her books years earlier and they found it was one of those things that worked every time they used it.

She cut the hard stems off the cabbage leaves and soaked the leaves in hot water to make them softer. She then used a rolling pin to knead on the leave to make a paste and from there, she placed the crushed cabbage leaves on the hurt areas of the body. Daryl had no idea why cabbage leaves helped bruises; Beth said that cabbage was packed with nutrients and vitamins, but Daryl just always looked at it as cabbage.

Thankfully, the one crop Mulligan had been able to grow before they came in his rocky mountain soil was cabbage. They seemed to have plenty of it.

Anna came around to the other side of bed and set Aiden down before crawling up as well, going to the bowl, kneeling next to Daryl, and picking up a leaf, waiting for Beth to tell her when she needed it.

"How are you feeling?" Anna asked him.

Daryl tried to sit up a little as Beth began unwrapping the gauze from around his body, but she kept her hand on his shoulder, keeping him down.

"Feel like I fell down a hole," he grunted.

"Mulligan said it's an old trapping hole," Beth said softly, unwrapping the gauze as slowly and gently as she could and she then began peeling off the cabbage leaves that had been placed there a half hour earlier. "We have to be careful. There are others out there. Holes people dug to try and catch animals."

Daryl sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. "I should 'ave seen it."

Beth was quiet and once all of the old cabbage leaves were off, she gave his skin a second to breathe. "Anna," she then said and the girl handed her the first leaf.

Daryl looked at Beth as she gently placed the cabbage leaves over the deep bruises that covered an expanse of his upper body. "Is it gettin' better?" He asked her.

She nodded. "Yes. You should have seen yourself when they got you back here. I thought you were dead," she then said in a whisper.

"'m sorry," he said quietly, looking at her and he saw the tears glistening in her eyes as she avoided looking at him as she continued placing the cabbage leaves on him.

He was an asshole. A huge one. His wife was pregnant – she was the one who needed to take it easy and be careful and healthy – and the last thing she needed was a pain-in-the ass husband always throwing temper tantrums and making her worry.

"How'd Spencer get me back here?" He asked.

"He ran back here and got Mulligan and Aaron. They got the rope and the wagon and Mulligan was able to get into the hole and they tied the rope around you and get you out of there," she said, her hands never stopping and always steady in her work.

"You were so bruised, Daryl," Anna spoke up. "We've been using cabbage leaves on you for two whole days. The ones on your chest and arm are the worst ones though."

"Two days?" Daryl looked, looking from Anna back to Beth.

She didn't say anything, but she pursed her lips together and nodded. With the fresh cabbage leaves in place, she began wrapping the gauze around his body again.

Aiden crawled across the bed to Daryl's head and he plopped down next to him. He patted Daryl on the head as if practicing his bedside manner and Daryl smirked a little up at him.

"Thanks, kid," he said and Aiden kept patting.

"I've been reading you _Anne of Green Gables_ every day," Anna informed him. "Beth said you might be able to hear. Did you hear?"

Daryl didn't want to lie to her. "I didn't. But maybe you could start readin' it to me again, from the beginnin'?"

"I can do that," Anna smiled happily. "You'll love it."

"'m sure I will," he agreed.

"Anna, can you take this back to the kitchen?" Beth asked, taking the bowl and dropping the old cabbage leaves into it.

"Yep!" Anna climbed down from the bed and taking the bowl, she left the room.

Aiden was still there, but Daryl didn't mind talking in front of him. It's not like the baby was going to go and repeat the conversation to his parents.

"'m sorry, Beth," Daryl said again and he reached a hand out, resting it on her knee.

She nodded. "It's not your fault, Daryl. Anyone could have fallen down that hole."

"That's not why I'm sorry. 'm sorry that I stormed out of here the other night," he said. "You were jus' doin' somethin' nice for me and I was actin' like an ass."

"You were," Beth didn't argue with that. " _Why_ were you being such an ass?"

He was quiet for a moment, thinking over what he and Spencer were talking about.

He shrugged.

"Words, Daryl," Beth said firmly.

Words. Actually speaking. He swallowed. Speaking with Beth. If he could speak with anyone, it was Beth.

He took a deep breath. "You were fryin' me that fish and I thought of Merle and your pops. And Rick…"

Beth looked at him and nothing he was saying seemed to surprise her. He wondered if she had already guessed for herself what his problem was. It wouldn't surprise him. No one knew him better than Beth. Hell, she probably knew him better than he did. It was what being with a person and just that person for a few years in this new world could do for someone.

"Sometimes, I feel bad that I'm the one who made it," he admitted.

"What did I tell you years ago?" She asked, but he knew that it was a question she really wasn't expecting him to answer. "You're not who you were. Daryl," she scooted a little closer to him. "Think of everything we've been through. Ever since it was you and me after the prison, think of absolutely everything that has happened."

Daryl didn't know if she actually wanted him to think about it, but he did anyway. And so much had happened to them that it took him a few minutes, but Beth sat there and let him think.

"Between you and me, I can't think of anyone else from our family who would have been able to do everything you've done," Beth confessed.

"What _you've_ done," he fixed it for her.

Beth shook her head instantly. "Because of _you_. If I got out with Maggie or Rick, they would never let me do any of the things I've done. When I told you I wanted to pick mushrooms and dandelions and try to make a soup, you grabbed your crossbow and said let's go before walking with me to the woods. There is no way Maggie would have ever encouraged me the way you have.

"Daryl," she reached out and gently took one of his hands and Aiden, seeing it, leaned forward and slapped his own little hand on top of theirs. "This person that I've become, it's because of _you_."

Daryl thought of something to say that would argue that, but he couldn't think of anything. He had said it so many times already. He didn't know what he would do without her. He had never thought that he had anything to do with what Beth was able to do for all of them.

Was that why he had made it? Because he was the one who helped Beth Dixon become the insanely kick-ass woman she was today?

If that was his only purpose on this earth anymore, it was better than anything else he could think of.

As if she knew that he knew it now, Beth leaned in and kissed his forehead.

"Come here," he said and pulled his hand out from hers and rested it on her stomach. Within seconds, he felt their baby moving around.

This was his other purpose.

"Are you hungry?" She asked. "We've been able to get broth and water down your throat, but nothing past that."

"Starvin'," he answered truthfully.

"What do you think you can hold down? I have lavender bread and I also made wild mountain leek soup. Do you want to try both?"

"I'll eat Aiden if you leave 'im alone with me for too long," Daryl tried to joke.

And Beth smiled as if it was greatest joke she had ever heard. She put her hands on the bed and pushed herself back to her feet. She then leaned over and hoisted Aiden up in her arms and then set him down on his feet on the floor.

"I'll be right back and I'll have Aaron come and help you sit up," she said.

"Hey," he said before she could follow Aiden's wobbly steps from the room.

Beth stopped in the doorway and looked back at him.

"I love you. You know that, right?" He said, feeling unsure for some reason all of a sudden though he wasn't entirely too sure why he would ever feel that when saying that to Beth. He loved her and he knew she loved him and it was something stupid to worry about it being any different, but he _was_ stupid. He kept proving that.

"I have an idea," she gave him a smile and then left the room.

Anna came scurrying back in with a book hugged to her chest. "You ready?"

"Yeah," Daryl nodded. "Aaron's gonna help me sit up and you can read to me while I'm eatin'. Sound good?"

"You're going to love this one, Daryl. I know it," Anna said excitedly.

"Alright," Aaron said as he entered the room. "Ready for this?"

Daryl nodded, already beginning to push himself up despite the pain, and Aaron gently took his arm and began pulling him upwards. Daryl gritted his teeth and Aaron rearranged the pillows behind him so when Daryl leaned back, he was leaning back against the pillows.

"Beth wanted to know if you had to pee," Aaron said and Anna giggled.

"Can't make it to the outhouse," Daryl shook his head even though the outhouse was right out his and Beth's back bedroom door.

Aaron looked to a can on the table next to Daryl's' side of the bed that Daryl had realized Aaron had brought in with him.

"Beth can help you," Aaron said and Daryl nodded though he didn't know if he would even let Beth help him with that.

"Food!" Rosita announced, coming into the room, Aiden chasing after her heels. In one hand, she carried a bowl of steaming soup and in her other hand, she held a plate with a couple slices of Beth's lavender bread. And behind her, Spencer came in and set a mug of water down on the table.

Beth was the last to enter and Daryl noticed how tired she looked. He wondered if she had gotten any rest since they had brought him in though he already knew the answer without wasting his breath and asking.

She walked around to the other side of the bed and with a yawn, she crawled in beside him. Daryl flung the quilts back with his one unwrapped arm and when she was lying down, he flung the quilts back, covering her.

"Thanks for bringin' me back," Daryl said, looking up to Spencer and Aaron as Rosita carefully balanced the bowl of soup in Daryl's lap.

Spencer just shrugged. "It's what we do. I didn't bring the boar back though."

They left a few minutes after that to let Daryl eat in peace and so Beth could get some rest. He expected her to fall asleep, but instead, she curled on her side, facing him, watching as he slurped down his leek soup like a starving man and he supposed that that was exactly what he was. He handed her one of the slices of bread and she took it with a soft smile and he watched as she nibbled on it.

Anna dragged the chair from the corner to Daryl's bedside. "You ready?" She asked with a smile, opening the book to the first page.

Daryl waited to swallow his mouthful of soup. "Go for it," he gave her a nod.

Anna cleared her throat and began to read. "Mrs. Rachel Lynde lived just where the Avonlea main road dipped down into a little hollow, fringed with alders and ladies' eardrops and traversed by a brook that had its source away back in the woods of the old Cuthbert place…"

Daryl and Beth ate quietly and listened to every word she read and when Daryl was done, he moved his hand over and rested it over Beth's.

…

* * *

 **Thank you so much for reading and please take a moment to leave a review!**


	18. Crazy

**I know many of those who read my stories wish I would update something else, but my muse really wanted to write this chapter. Thank you a million times to those who continue to read, review and support this story. As I mentioned, time will begin jumping quite a bit as we will start to see with the next chapter.**

* * *

…

 **Chapter Eighteen.** Crazy.

Kid had only been out in this world for an hour and he was already stubborn as hell.

The labor hadn't been easy – to put it mildly. Beth's water had broken and contractions had started, but then, it was nearly an entire day before Rosita had said that Beth was dilated enough. Only problem was, the baby wasn't turned the right way. Their baby was ready to be born feet first and the baby had to be turned before Beth could start pushing.

Daryl hardly remembered anything. He had been scared out of his mind – for Beth and for the baby. He sat in the bed, his back against the headboard, and Beth, exhausted and in pain and terrified out of her mind, was in front of him, leaning back against his chest, crying. Thank God for Rosita. Despite everything, she had managed to keep her cool and had told Anna to wash her hands and hurry.

"Your hands are the smallest," Rosita told the young girl – already nine or somewhere around there. "Beth and the baby really need your help. Can you do it?"

And the girl hadn't blanched. She had simply pushed her sleeves up with determination and Rosita had showed Anna what she needed to do. Anna had been the one to reach in and gently turn the baby around in the way it needed to be and make sure the umbilical cord wasn't tangled around the body and when all was set right, Rosita told Beth to start pushing. And Beth screamed as she did, clenching Daryl's hands.

Daryl never had before in his life, but this time, he started praying. He needed Beth to be alright; their baby to be healthy. He didn't know what he would do if he lost either of them tonight. It was like he had told Beth months earlier. If she was to die, bringing their baby in this world, Daryl would die right next to her.

Without Beth, there was no Daryl. He couldn't imagine going on without her.

Beth kept screaming and gripping his hands and Rosita shouted for Beth to keep pushing and then, Beth collapsed against his chest and there was a baby in Rosita's hands. And like Beth had taught Rosita, Rosita cleared the baby's mouth and rubbed a hand on the baby's back, clearing their lungs.

The first cry in the room was like a lightning bolt strike.

Beth began laughing and continued crying and Daryl stared at the baby in shock. Their baby. His baby. He and Beth had a baby.

"It's a boy," Rosita informed them with tears streaming down her cheeks.

He had a son. A son. He and Beth had a son.

Rosita cut the umbilical cord with a sterilized knife and Anna wrapped him up in a clean blanket. Rosita brought the baby around the bed into Beth's waiting arms. Beth's tears were still streaming down her cheeks, but she was smiling as she looked down at the baby, still crying. Daryl looked down at him, his mind still trying to play catch up, but he managed to count ten fingers and ten toes and only two eyes and one nose and he definitely seemed to have a healthy set of lungs.

The windows were open in the room, but despite the cold winter air, the room was still hot and stifling and they were all sweaty. Nonetheless, Anna began closing the windows so the baby wouldn't get cold.

"Let us in!" Mulligan banged impatiently on the closed bedroom door.

Rosita was cleaning Beth up and Anna went to the door, but waited until Rosita gave her a go-ahead nod, covering Beth's lower body, before Anna opened it, revealing Mulligan, Spencer and Aaron.

"It's a boy," she proudly declared just as she had done that winter night a couple of years earlier when Aiden had been born.

The men came into the room, all looking to Beth and Daryl on the bed with the baby in Beth's arms. His cries were finally starting to quiet down. Daryl kissed the side of Beth's head and then slowly and carefully pulled himself away from her, standing up from the bed, turning to prop the pillows up behind her. He then bent down and kissed her head again and then kissed the head of his son. He didn't care about being overly affectionate in front of everyone. He had a son and he was a dad.

He then proceeded to hug everyone in the room, hugging Rosita and Anna the longest, and he heard Rosita sniffle as she hugged him tightly in return. He wanted to tell her thank you, but the words were stuck in his throat and he didn't know if it was even the right thing to say right now. It didn't seem like it was nearly enough.

"What's his name?" Aaron asked, sounding choked up as he went to kiss Beth's head and get his first look at the newest member of their family.

"Eli," Daryl and Beth answered at the same time.

They hadn't talked about names since that afternoon they had shared in the creek a few months earlier, but Daryl had meant what he said then. Eli for a boy or Cecily for a girl were good names to him and really, whatever Beth wanted to name their baby, it worked for him. And actually, Eli Dixon sounded pretty bad ass.

And now, an hour later, Beth was asleep and Daryl sat in the chair next to her bedside, holding their son in his arms. The baby was quiet now, wrapped up in the blanket, but he wasn't sleeping. He was looking up at Daryl as if trying to figure out exactly who this big guy was.

"You scared us earlier, not wantin' to turn the right way 'round in there," Daryl spoke in a soft voice, never taking his eyes off his son. "You can't be scarin' us anymore. That was it. You got one chance to do it and now, you're never allowed to scare either of us again."

Eli simply looked up at him. His tiny hands were curled into tiny fists and Rosita had knitted him mittens to wear over them. Daryl remembered when Aiden was a baby and they covered his hands so he didn't scratch himself. Rosita had also knit Eli a little cap to wear that he now wore over his bare head.

Daryl couldn't stop looking down at him. He was pretty sure he was never going to blink again. He had a son. He wondered how the hell he had gotten here. Well, he actually knew. It had been a long road to get to this exact moment in his life, but he was here and he wouldn't want to be anywhere else in the world.

"I'm gonna take care of you," Daryl vowed to Eli in a quiet voice. "No matter what happens from here on out, I'm gonna to do anythin' to keep you and your mom safe." Eli just kept looking up at him; not that Daryl was expecting him to do more. "And I'm gonna teach you how to hunt and track and your mama's gonna teach you everythin' else."

"That's a lot of pressure to put on me."

Daryl lifted his eyes to see that Beth was awake now, looking at them both with a soft smile on her face, and Daryl was pretty sure she had never looked prettier than she did right then. He smiled back at her.

"You jus' pushed this kid from you like a champ," he told her. "Pretty sure you'd be able to do anythin'."

She kept smiling and now looked as if she was blushing a little. "How is he?"

"Finally quiet," Daryl answered, his eyes going back to their son. "How are you? Rosita said that when you're awake, she'd make you some of that violet tea you like so much if you wan'."

"That sounds amazing," Beth nodded. "But can we take a family picture first?"

"'course we can."

Daryl stood up and Beth sat herself up slowly. He passed Eli from his arms into her waiting ones and he adjusted the pillows behind her back so she could lean against them and he then went to the chest at the foot of their bed where their clothes and few personal possessions were kept.

Years ago, when they had first began searching the houses of the St. George subdivision, they had come across a Polaroid Instant Camera. To see if it worked, Beth had snapped Daryl's picture and then Daryl had snapped hers. The picture of Daryl was kept by Beth on her nightstand and Daryl never went anywhere without Beth's picture in his back pocket. There had been a family picture, too, of the two of them and their fox, Jack, also kept out on Beth's nightstand. The film was old and the pictures had a yellowish hue, but it was amazing to have pictures no matter the quality. Since then, there was also a picture taken of Rosita, Spencer and Aiden after Aiden was born, and they had recently taken a picture of Anna, Mulligan and Aaron out in the barn with Mick, the dog, and some of the animals they had.

Daryl took out the camera now. There were only a few more pictures that could be taken and Daryl was grateful that they would be able to have one of their baby boy.

He came back to the bed and Beth smiled, scooting forward so he could slip in behind her and she then leaned back against him once more. He adjusted the camera in his hand so he'd be able to push the button and Beth held Eli up a little in her arms. Daryl then stretched his arm out and held the camera out in from of them.

"Ready?" He asked.

Beth smiled and nodded and Daryl pressed the button, the picture spitting out like a frog's tongue, the flash momentarily stealing their eye-sight.

"I probably look like a mess," she smiled as Daryl took the picture and camera and set both down on the bed beside them, waiting for the picture to develop.

"You look beautiful," Daryl said without hesitation and Beth flushed a little because Daryl was never one to lie and what he said was what he was always thinking.

He kissed her on the temple then and she closed her eyes, sinking back against him.

"You're the most amazin' person I've ever met," he said in her ear and the flush on her cheeks grew deeper and he kissed her temple again.

Beth turned her head down towards Eli and Daryl looked over her shoulder to also look down at their son. It looked like he was finally starting to fall asleep and Daryl was surprised the kid had been up this long. He had had just a hard night as Beth.

"'m gonna get back to the treehouse tomorrow. Wan' it finished within the month," he said as Beth's index finger brushed along Eli's cheek. "Wan' a home for you two."

"Get the others to help you," Beth said, still watching Eli. "I don't want you building a house on your own."

Daryl couldn't help but smirk a little. "You just gave birth to this one on your own."

Beth laughed a little at that and turned her head, looking at him. "Trust me. If we have another one, I will be more than happy to let you take a turn, giving birth."

Daryl smirked a little and then lifting his hand to cup the side of her head, he leaned in and kissed her, softly and gently, and he had been in love with Beth for so long now, but he wondered if he had loved her as much as he felt like he did right then.

He had known it for so long now, but tonight, what she had been able to do, he couldn't imagine anyone else in this world being stronger or braver or capable. And she was his wife and she had brought their son out to them both.

"Are you happy?" Beth asked him in a quiet voice once their lips had parted.

He gave her a confused look. "Never been happier," he replied honestly.

"And you're glad you're here?" She asked.

And he got it now why she was asking him.

Daryl's hand lingered on her face and he stared into her eyes because of everyone, Beth was the only one who could read his.

"Ain't nowhere else I'd rather be," he told her quietly; firmly. And he watched as her lips quivered in a smile and tears flooded her eyes and Daryl held her close, his lips resting to her forehead.

Feeling as if he was being ignored, Eli let out a sharp cry, startling them both.

"Hey, you," Beth smiled down to him. "Are you hungry? I bet you are."

Daryl pulled himself from behind her and adjusted the pillows once more and helped her unbutton the plaid shirt she wore so she could feed their son. And he stood there for a moment, watching as Eli suckled on her breast. He wondered if he would always think of Lori and Judith in situations like this; and if his stomach would always feel heavy at the memory of how Lori had died. Damn, how old would Lil' Asskicker be now? Maybe around five. If she was still…

No, he wasn't going to think about anything like that. Not today or ever again. It didn't matter. Not anymore. He had a wife and a son and nothing else mattered.

"'m gonna go tell Rosita that you're ready for that tea," he said and Beth had been watching Eli as he ate, but as he spoke, Beth lifted her head to look at Daryl and gave him a smile.

And Daryl had absolutely no problem with giving her a smile back.

…

Winter was – in Daryl's words – "a bitch" and "cold as balls".

But they were making it through without starving or freezing to death and in Beth's opinion, nothing mattered more than that. The chickens were still giving them eggs and the goats were still giving them milk and they had food piled in the root cellar and fires roaring in the hearths and nothing mattered more to Beth than that.

She spent her days inside, in the kitchen mostly, with Eli in his wicker basket on the table where she could keep an eye on him as she cooked and baked and took care of her family as she always did.

Rosita spent her days in the living room where her sewing machine had been set up, either sewing and mending or sitting on the couch and spending long hours, knitting more mittens or scarves for them all, and each afternoon, she would take Aiden and would walk the fence just to get some fresh air though it had been weeks since they saw their last walker.

Anna spent her days between the house and the barn, tugging on her boots every morning to trudge through the snow to go out and help Mulligan with the animals, and then in the afternoons, she sat at the kitchen table and worked through her lessons; reading and math her two most important subjects.

The men spent their days outside, working in the snow and frigid cold, building the treehouse. Beth had suggested that Daryl wait until spring to finish it, but Daryl Dixon was nothing if not stubborn and he was determined to finish it sooner rather than later. He didn't want to wait a few more months. He wanted them moved in.

From one of the windows in the kitchen, Beth could see the progress of the tree house across the yard. They had added more stilts for the base and they were now putting up the walls. It was long, hard work – slow work – but they were definitely making progress and Beth couldn't help but get more excited as she saw it come along and it was so amazing to her that it was actually being built.

Why on earth had it taken this long for one of them to think to build a house up in the trees, away from the walkers?

One of Beth's favorite meals to make during the winter months was a potato and carrot stew and as the men came in as the sun began to sink down in the sky, she filled bowls from the pot on the stove and passed them out. It was heavy and thick and filling; "stuck to your bones", in Mulligan's words.

Daryl shed his coat and scarf, blew on his hands and stuck them near the flames of the wood-burning oven in the middle of the kitchen, warming them, before turning towards the table.

"There's my boy," he smiled down as he reached into the basket and lifted Eli up into his arms.

Eli was beginning to recognize everyone around him, but he knew Beth and Daryl – knew they were his mom and dad – and he always had a smile for them. And seeing Eli at the end of his work, Daryl always smiled and watching them, Beth smiled, too.

Seeing Daryl as a father was one of the most amazing things that she had ever seen. He seemed younger, in a way. He had always had something childlike about him – though Daryl would _never_ agree with her about that – but Beth knew it had to do with his own childhood and certain parts of him had just never gotten the chance to develop properly. Her husband was a broken man – both with his life before the world ended and after – but when he held Eli in his arms, it was as if there wasn't a single problem in this life that they now faced just by holding their son.

He seemed happy. He seemed free. Beth would never get tired of watching it.

"Honey bread," Beth said, picking up a plate, heaping with slices, and brought it into the living room where everyone else sat around the fire, eating their stew. She handed the plate first to Mulligan, who helped himself to three slices, before passing it to Rosita, who sat beside him.

With their bee hives buzzing in the warm months, they had such a supply of honey now, Beth was experimenting and using it in all sorts of her cooking, looking to the others as her taste testers to figure out what worked with honey added and what didn't. So far, the honey bread seemed to be very much liked – especially by Mulligan, but Beth was certain she could cook soot into the bread and the man would still eat it quite willingly and eagerly.

When Beth turned back towards the kitchen, she saw that Daryl was no longer standing there, but she did not wonder where he was. She walked from the room and came into their bedroom just in time to see Daryl blowing a raspberry on Eli's belly as he changed his diaper on the bed and Eli lighting up with laughter.

Beth would definitely never get tired of watching it.

"How was he today?" Daryl asked, lifting his head to look at her, and was able to change the rest of Eli's diaper without even watching what he was doing.

"A little fussy for a little bit this morning, but he's fascinated with Aiden," she said, leaving the doorway to come and sit on the bed next to the baby. "Aiden likes to blow his tongue out at him. It makes Eli smile every time and Aiden loves it."

Daryl smiled at that and with the diaper now fresh on him, he stood up from kneeling on the floor and picked Eli up, keeping him in his arms as he sat down next to Beth, looking at her. "And how you feelin'?" He asked as he asked every evening after he came in from working all day.

Beth shrugged honestly as she always did. "Still a little sore, but better."

"You take your stuff?" He asked.

Her "stuff" was a cup of willow bark tea and she nodded at him now with a small smile. He held Eli in one arm and rested his other hand on Beth's thigh. Beth covered his hand with hers, feeling that it was still a little cold. She gave it a slight squeeze.

"You gotta rest more," Daryl said, still looking at her.

She nearly let a laugh out at that. "Look who's talking." She gave his hand another squeeze. "I'll rest, Daryl Dixon, if you do."

"I'm restin' right now," Daryl pointed out to her.

"So am I," Beth gave him a small smile. "It looks really amazing," she then said in a quiet voice and could see that Daryl visibly swallowed, as if embarrassed with the praise. "Hey," she said softly and gently bumped her shoulder against his.

"Yeah," Daryl finally agreed. "'tween the four of us, workin' on it, 's really comin' along," he said with a jerky nod and looked down to Eli. "We're gonna be goin' out in a couple days to get the windows and stove. Added as much insulation between the walls that I could, but I wanna get somethin' else to keep us warm."

Beth leaned into him and her nose brushed against his ear. "You're the most amazing man in the whole world, Daryl Dixon," she whispered to him and she felt him nearly shiver as her warm breath tickled his skin.

Someone in the living room had cranked the record player and Van Morrison now played softly throughout the cabin.

"You gotta eat," Daryl said and for a moment, Beth thought he was talking to Eli, because it was around the baby's evening feeding time, but when she lifted her head from his shoulder, she saw it was her he was looking at.

"So do you," she reminded him with a soft smile.

Daryl stood up, adjusting Eli in his arm, and he watched as Beth slowly stood up, obviously trying to hide her wincing from him. He frowned at how stubborn she could be. Woman had just given birth four days earlier and she insisted on constantly moving around as if it had been just any other thing she had done.

He suppressed a sigh. Damn stubborn woman.

He put a hand on her arm. "Stay in here and sit back down. I'll bring some stew to you."

"Daryl, I'm fine," Beth began to say just as he knew she would, but as she said it, he knew she really must not mean it because she was sitting down again on the bed without attempting to keep standing.

Without a word, Daryl passed Eli into her arms and left the bedroom. He went into the kitchen and spooned out two bowls of the stew from the pot on the stove and took two slices of honey bread. Aaron came to the stove to get seconds and Daryl looked at him.

"She's drivin' me crazy," Daryl murmured to him.

Aaron smiled in response. "That's why you love her though, isn't it?"

"I'd love her a hell of a lot more if she'd just sit the hell down for once," he grumbled and he heard Aaron laughing as Daryl turned and went back into their bedroom.

Beth was sitting up on their bed, her legs crossed and Eli in her arms as she nursed him. With his hands holding the bowls, he closed the door behind him with his foot and came to set the bowl down on the nightstand next to Beth's side of the bed. Daryl then came to sit on his side of the bed, putting himself close to her, scooping up bits of the stew onto the slice of the bread and as he ate, he watched Eli eat.

Beth hummed a soft song, humming along to whatever Van Morrison song was playing from the living room, and she patted Eli's bottom in tempo with the music.

"You gotta slow down, Beth," Daryl said, figuring it was a good time to say it – when they were both alone in their bedroom and it was quiet.

"I'll slow down when you do," she replied, looking at Eli and not him.

Daryl didn't hide his sigh this time. "'m buildin' us a house and I jus' can't slow down. I wanna get it done."

"Well, I feed and take care of everyone and I just can't stop," was Beth's retort.

Daryl's response to that was a heavy sigh and he set his bowl down, not feeling hungry anymore. "Beth, you didn' stop when you were pregnant and you're not stoppin' now. We ain't all idiots where we can't function without you."

Beth finally turned her head, looking at him from over her shoulder. "I'll slow down when you do," she repeated.

Daryl sighed again and leaned back against his pillow, closing his eyes and suddenly feeling exhausted, but he knew that it wasn't from the long day's work. "You drive me crazy, woman," he mumbled.

Beth kept humming and smiling down at their son as he ate. "But that's why you love me."

…

* * *

 **Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to comment!  
**


	19. Peace

**This chapter is more like a series of vignettes and I love every single one of them. I had such clear visions of all three of these sections last night and I woke up this morning, so excited to write it all out. I hope you like this chapter. I get the best reviews for this story and I cannot thank you enough to those who leave me their thoughts on the updates. I am just having the best time researching and writing this story and I'm so happy that you are loving it, too!**

* * *

…

 **Chapter Nineteen.** Peace.

Eli wouldn't stop crying, Beth burned the loaf of bread she was baking that day and holding the pan in her hands, she sank onto the floor, sobbing loudly to match her son's. Anna was at the kitchen table, doing her math exercises, and she didn't know what to do. She lifted Eli from his wicker basket on the table and did her best to rock him and shush him, but he wasn't interested in any of that and continued wailing, and Anna looked down to Beth, sitting on the floor, staring down at the burnt bread in the pan in her hands and becoming breathless with her crying.

Anna went to the backdoor and hurried outside, hugging Eli close to her chest because it was cold and she hadn't put him down. "Daryl!" She called out, knowing she wasn't supposed to yell, but Daryl was working in the tree house and she needed him to come. Right now.

Daryl rushed out onto the landing and saw Anna standing at the back door of the cabin with Eli wailing in her arms.

"It's Beth!" She yelled and that was all she had to say before Daryl was scrambling down the stairs that they had just finished that led from the ground to the first landing of the house.

Eli was still crying when Daryl rushed to Anna and took the baby from her arms into his. He then hurried inside, Anna on his heels, where he saw Beth still weeping on the floor with the pan of burnt bread in her hands. And when they heard Anna yelling, everyone else came running, too, but Daryl didn't notice anyone else as he knelt down in front of Beth, still trying to get Eli to stop crying while looking into Beth's face, lifting a hand to the side of her head.

"Beth," he said her name and he didn't even know if she could hear him. She just kept crying and staring down at the burnt bread and it was as if Eli was feeding off of her emotions because the more Beth cried, the more Eli cried in response.

Aaron stepped forward and picked Eli from Daryl's arms and he let him because right now, Daryl was staring at Beth and he couldn't give his son his full attention. Daryl had no idea what was happening, but whatever it was, it knotted his stomach and made him scared and worried and he forced his brain to think of something to do. First things first.

He gently pulled the bread pan from her hands and slid it onto the counter and then getting to his haunches, he slipped his arms around her and he stood up, lifting her easily up into his arms. She must not have been too unaware of things around her because she slipped her arms around his shoulders and pressed her wet, hot face into the side of his neck, crying against his skin as he carried her into their room.

He set her on the bed and then turned back towards the door to close it, but before he could, Rosita was there, holding a cup of water out for him to take. He gave her a nod of thanks, taking the cup, and he looked past her to see Aaron holding Eli, bouncing the baby slightly up and down in his arms, and the baby seemed to be quieting down, and Mulligan was looking at the burnt bread. Daryl had no doubt that the man would still eat it no matter how badly it was burned.

Daryl closed the door and turned back towards Beth, still crying and she was now gasping for breath. He set the mug of water down on the nightstand table and then kneeled down in front of her, pulling her boots off, setting them down and then he began unbuttoning the flannel shirt she was wearing. She did nothing to stop him and he undressed her until she wore nothing but her underwear.

He then stood up and went to the fireplace in their room, building a fire up again, and then went to their chest at the foot of the bed. There had been so many Mulligans who had lived in this cabin for the past hundred or so years – ever since Mulligan's great grandpa had immigrated from Scotland and had settled up in these mountains and had built this cabin. Their things were still left here and Mulligan didn't seem to mind with sharing. One of Beth's favorite things had been a thick grey homemade cable-knit sweater that had belonged to one of Mulligan's brothers and she began to love sleeping in it on particularly cold winter nights.

Daryl took the sweater out now and came back to Beth, slipping it on over her head, and Beth was with it enough to slip her arms through the armholes. She was still crying, but not as hard as she had been just a moment earlier.

"Come on, Beth," he said in a low, gentle voice as he pulled back a corner of the quilt back so she could slip beneath it. "Le's lie down for a bit."

"I burnt the bread," she finally spoke, still gasping for breath and her throat raw. "I… I never… we don't have the supplies for me to just be burning things."

"Come on, Beth," Daryl said again and guided her to lay down so he could pull the quilt to her chin. "'member when you let me make corncakes for the first time and I burned 'em to hell?"

She shook her head and closed her eyes as a few more tears slowly escaped and trailed down her face. "It's my job though to bake the bread," she whispered.

"Hey," he said and sat down on the bed, perching himself on the edge beside her. "'s your job to take care of yourself and get some rest. Eli needs his mama and I can't do it on my own, Beth. We all need you to take care of yourself."

Beth's eyes remained closed, but she turned towards him, curling into a small ball beneath the quilt and she moved her head on the pillow closer to him. Daryl always felt like he had too big, clumsy hands sometimes and now, he tried to brush hair back from her face in what he hoped was a comforting gesture.

"Can you stay with me?" She then asked in a whisper.

Daryl didn't answer. He just stood up from the bed and took off his coat and scarf and then his boots, leaving everything else on, and he crawled into the bed behind her, slipping beneath the quilt and immediately putting his arms around her, gently dragging her backwards until her back was against his chest. She adjusted and nestled and exhaled a soft breath.

"I'm so tired," she then said, her voice still a whisper.

"I know you are," he whispered back, his nose in her hair. "And 'm gonna lock you in this room 'til you get some rest."

He couldn't see her face, but he could still hear her smiling a little and he realized that there had been a tightness in his chest that was now easing.

"Where's Eli?" She then asked.

"Aaron's got 'im. Wan' me to get 'im?" Daryl offered and Beth barely was able to nod her head before Daryl was already slipping from the bed.

He opened the bedroom door and saw that the others were still gathered in the kitchen. Mulligan and Spencer were sitting at the table and Mulligan had cut into the bread – the crust blackened and hard as a rock – but he had managed to cut slices and he and Spencer, Aiden sitting on his knee, were eating the inside, that didn't seem completely ruined. Rosita and Anna were cleaning up the kitchen and Aaron was walking Eli around the room, still bouncing him gently in his arms. He turned his head when he saw Daryl enter and he walked towards him, passing him Eli.

"I think he might be hungry," Aaron commented.

Eli was awake, but he seemed tired now; as if his own breakdown just minutes earlier had wiped him out just like it had his mama.

Daryl nodded. "Thanks for takin' 'im," he said and Aaron nodded with a small smile.

He turned and headed back towards the bedroom and heard Rosita following behind him. He didn't stop her.

"Beth! It ain't that bad!" Mulligan called out with his mouth full.

Daryl came back into the room and Rosita stopped in the doorway.

"Beth, I'm going to make cabbage and noodles for dinner," she said. They ate cabbage and noodles often during the winter. They had plenty of noodles and plenty of cabbage and it was something easy to make that filled them all up.

"Okay," Beth agreed. "I can make the noodles in a little bit-" she began to say.

Rosita swiftly cut her off. "We have two bags of egg noodles in the root cellar I'm going to use," she said. "You rest up and I'll call you both when dinner's ready."

And with that, she closed the bedroom door.

Beth had rolled onto her other side and watched as Daryl laid Eli down in the space next to her before slipping back into the bed himself, covering all three with the quilt again. Eli laid on his back between his two parents, his hands curled into tiny fists and his eyes looking up at both of them.

Beth leaned in and closing her eyes, she pressed her nose to her son's head and her hand rubbed his belly. "I'm sorry," she whispered to him.

"You ain't got nothin' to apologize for," Daryl told her. Beth lifted her eyes to look at him, but she didn't say anything. "You just had this kid a few weeks ago. Your body is still settin' itself right."

Her lips twitched a little at that. "Read that, did you?"

His own lips twitched upwards and he shrugged a shoulder. "And Spencer told me."

She laughed softly at that and Daryl had always been so sure that he had never heard anything better in this world than Beth's laughter. Her singing a close second.

"I know I need to slow down," she said after a minute of watching Eli. The baby was kicking his legs back and forth as if in the middle of some spastic dance and it made them both smile as they watched. "It's just hard for me to. There's just so much to do and I love doing it all. I love taking care of everyone and being useful and important. At the farm and at the prison… I just never felt that before."

Daryl couldn't help but smirk a little and Beth lifted her eyes from Eli to him.

"What?" She asked, her brow creased.

He shook his head. "We all thought you were the _most_ important person. You and Lori," he informed her. "Rick and me knew that if anything happened to either of you, it'd kill all of us. If anything happened to you, your pops and sister would go crazy and crazy would get them killed and it'd be some huge domino effect on us all. Same thing with Lori. Rick and me knew we had to keep you two safe."

Beth stared at him and it was obvious that she had absolutely no idea what to say to that. Daryl didn't say anything. He sat up a little and brushed some hair back from Eli's forehead. Kid had some dark hair already that matched his and Beth had said that their son was going to be a mini-Daryl; she already had a strong feeling about it.

"Aaron said he might be hungry," Daryl said and if agreeing and understanding, Eli began opening and closing his mouth and Beth laughed softly, pushing herself up, to sit back against the headboard, and she lifted Eli into her arms.

Daryl rolled onto his side and propped his head up in his hand and watched as Beth lifted her sweater and Eli had latched onto her nipple within seconds, beginning to feed. Daryl never got tired of watching Beth feed their son. It was a something damn miraculous to watch, he knew that much. Natural and incredible all at the same time.

"I love you more than anythin'," Daryl heard himself say to both of them.

Beth smiled softly as she lifted her eyes from Eli to look at him. "We love you, too."

And he wanted to tell her how important she was. How she was the most important thing to him in this whole damn world, but he didn't. He didn't think he had to say it. She probably already knew. Beth knew everything about him. He just wished he knew how to convince her that she _was_.

…

Daryl was the one to see the tracks and he and Mulligan moved fast. They hitched up the horse, Blackie, and the wagon and Beth quickly packed them a bag of provisions because this was one hunting trip that would through the night and it was decided that Anna and Aaron would come with them as well as Mick, their wolf-dog.

They left the cabin and walked deep into the woods, trying to walk as quietly as they could even with the snow crunching underneath their boots, but the snow also helped Daryl keep his eye on the tracks easily. His body hummed with excitement as it usually did when he was hunting even if on the outside, his façade was one of extreme coolness and calm.

They were getting closer; he could feel it. He dropped down close to the ground and the others followed his lead. Daryl looked over his shoulder to Aaron and signaled for him to stay back with Blackie and the wagon, not wanting the horse to alert the animal, and Aaron nodded, standing up and holding onto the horse's reins as the others stood up and slowly began creeping up the hill where the tracks led.

Anna gasped when she saw it within the trees. She had never seen a moose before in her life and she was taken aback at how _huge_ the animal was. It was almost frightening just how big it was. When Daryl had told Mulligan about the tracks, Mulligan had said that if they managed to get themselves a moose, they would have meat for the rest of the winter. They would store it in the barn, where it was cold enough to be kept, and they could have meat every single day for the rest of the winter. That was how much meat a moose could give them.

Daryl crouched down behind a fallen log and lifted his crossbow to his face, taking aim. Mulligan had his gun, but they had already decided they wouldn't use it. They didn't like to use guns. Too loud and it could attract both the living and the walkers and bullets didn't last forever. Something might happen where they will _really_ need a gun and they will need bullets for that; not for a moose when Daryl had his bolts.

None of them moved an inch. None of them even breathed. They watched as the moose rubbed its antlers against a tree and Anna watched him, beginning to feel guilty that Daryl was about to kill this animal – this innocent animal who had done nothing and didn't even see it coming – but Anna thought of her family and how they would get to eat and it wasn't as if they were starving – far from it – but it wasn't just the meat they would use from this moose. The fat and fur and even the antlers. She told herself that this wasn't the only moose in the Appalachian Mountains.

Still, she closed her eyes, slapping her hands over them, when Daryl fired the first bolt. She heard it sail through the air and she knew it hit the target because the moose let out something of a moan that hurt her ears. Daryl loaded the crossbow quickly again and shot another arrow. The first one had hit the moose in the eye and this bolt sailed right into the moose's heart. When he collapsed, dead a few seconds later, Anna could have sworn that the ground shook beneath her feet.

She still didn't want to look. She heard Daryl moving forward to go check on the moose and to get his bolts back and she heard Mulligan let out a whistle, letting Aaron know that he and Blackie could come up the hill now.

"Hey."

Anna slowly pulled her hands away from her eyes and Mulligan was kneeling in front of her.

"You're okay," he told her and he wasn't asking, but rather telling her and Anna swallowed and nodded her head. He gave her a small smile. "You're okay," he said again and then stood up, patting her on the back of her head.

Mick was walking around the moose's body, sniffing it and sniffing the ground, his ears perked up at attention, listening for anything else that might be approaching them, but all was quiet around them. Aaron took the rope they had brought with them and went to go tie the hind legs together.

"Which one?" He then asked.

Daryl looked for a moment and then pointed to the tree nearest to the moose. "That one looks like it'll hold," he said and Aaron nodded, standing up and tossing the end of the rope over the thick branch.

It took all four of them – though Anna wasn't sure how much she actually helped – and they pulled the moose up just enough for it to barely swing above the ground. Mulligan grabbed the plastic bin they had brought with them and Daryl situated it beneath the moose's head before he pulled his knife out and dragged it across the animal's throat. Anna turned her head away, able to hear the blood begin to drain from the moose's body into the bin.

They were going to camp out that night, it taking that long for the blood to drain, and then Daryl and Mulligan would dress the deer tomorrow and they would load the wagon and then burn and bury the organs and blood before going home.

Aaron gathered wood and he lit a fire and Mulligan sat down on the ground, pulling out the sack Beth had packed for them. Anna sat beside him and Daryl and Aaron took their places around the fire. The land was growing dark around them and Anna found herself scooting a little closer to Mulligan. It had been a long time since she had been out in the dark like this and she couldn't help but be nervous though she knew that between Aaron, Mulligan and Daryl, she was perfectly safe.

Beth had packed them a container of goat's milk, slices of corn bread, and radishes. They ate their dinner with little talk between them and when he was done, Daryl leaned back against a fallen tree trunk behind him and he looked relaxed, but the crossbow was across his lap and Anna could see the way his eyes never stopped moving around the dark landscape that surrounded them.

"Little birdie, little birdie," Mulligan began to sing.

"Won't you sing to me your song?

Got a short time to stay here,

And a long time to be gone.

I'd rather be in some dark holler,

Where the sun don't never shine,

Than for you to be another man's darling,

And to know you'll never be mine."

Anna hugged her knees to her chest and turned her cheek to rest on one, listening to him sing and smiling a little to herself. She loved the songs Mulligan sang. He sang a lot as they worked out in the barn together, feeding and caring for the animals. He called them mountain songs and Anna loved them.

"So tomorrow," Daryl said, pausing to take a sip of milk from his tin cup. "We'll cut it up. Get the meat, the antlers and the fat. Burn the organs, bury the blood, and then we'll head home."

The meat was for them. They would hang it in the barn and rub it with salt and with how cold it was outside, it should be able to be kept with no issue for the rest of winter. The antlers were for Mick; something for him to chew on. And if they wanted, they could even whittle the antlers down into extra knives to have. An antler knife was a sharp tool to have, Mulligan had said. And the fat was going to be used for both soap and candles. The fur would be treated and Rosita would sew it into their coats and boots to make them warmer. Not a single part of this moose was going to be wasted and Anna knew how important it was for all of them; she just hated to look and see the dark shape of the monstrous animal, hanging upside down and being drained of all of its blood.

Just this morning, it had been alive and had had no idea that today was its last day in its life. But with walkers around, wasn't that how it was for all of them? They were doing well for themselves on this mountain, but Anna knew that that could all change. They could all be here tomorrow and then be gone the next day; just like that. And there was nothing that could be done to stop it.

She had learned it at an early age. When a person's time was up, it was up.

"Aaron, you and Anna sleep," Daryl said. "Me and Mulligan 'll take the first watch."

Aaron nodded and reached into his pack, pulling out his blanket. He looked across the fire to Anna. "You have yours?"

She nodded and took her own pack, pulling out her blanket. She moved a little closer to the fire and she laid down. Before she could, Mulligan took the blanket and spread it out of her. She gave him a smile.

"You get enough to eat?" He asked her.

Anna nodded and didn't say anything. The flames popped in front of her as it ate the wood and kindle and somewhere, in the pitch black night, she heard an owl hooting.

She huddled into a tight ball beneath her blanket and bent her arm beneath her head, using it as a pillow. She didn't know if she'd actually be able to fall asleep. She missed her bed in her little room beneath the stairs. It was already discussed that once Daryl and Beth with Eli moved into their tree house, Mulligan would move from his room upstairs into the bedroom that had been theirs and Anna would move upstairs into the bedroom he had left. They would all have a little bit more room to spread out, but Anna knew that none of them actually cared about living in such close quarters with one another. They liked knowing they were all close together.

"What does moose taste like?" Anna heard herself ask no one in particular in a quiet voice, her eyes watching the flames dance in front of her.

"Like chicken," Mulligan answered and she knew that he was just teasing her because she heard Daryl and Aaron snicker, and she smiled.

…

A light snow had begun to fall and after a dinner of roasted moose and mushroom soup, they were all warm and full and settled in for a night spent inside.

Rosita sat on the couch, knitting something red that looked like it would be a scarf, and Spencer laid, stretched out next to her, his head on her thigh, reading the thick law book that he had kept all of these years. He had read it from cover to cover plenty of times, but on quiet nights like this, he liked to read through it again. Aiden was sitting on the floor, playing with his dump truck toy and stuffed dog that they had gotten for him runs ago. Anna was on the floor in front of the fire, lying on her stomach with her feet in the air, coloring a picture from a coloring book with a box of colored pencils that they had managed to find for her from one of the houses in the town at the base of the mountain. Mick laid beside her, chewing an antler.

Aaron sat in the chair, his own book open in his hand. They had just finished reading _Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde_ as a family and now, Aaron was reading the other short stories in the book. Daryl was in the rocking chair, slowly pushing himself back and forth, rocking Eli as the baby laid in his arms. The baby had eaten and had just been burped and he should be falling asleep, but the kid was stubborn. Even with his eyes growing heavy, the baby seemed to refuse to allow himself to.

In the kitchen, Mulligan was at the sink, washing the dishes from dinner and Beth stood next to him, drying, and he was telling her a story because Daryl could hear her soft laughter. She always got the biggest kick out of the stories Mulligan would tell about the exploits he and his brothers and cousins had gotten into in these mountains when they had all been alive and the world was still good.

Daryl wondered if when they got older, Anna, Aiden and Eli would have their own adventures and exploits to tell, growing up on this mountain. He could only hope they all got to stay here to grow up.

Aiden put his hands on the floor and he pushed himself up to his feet. All of the adults in the room acted like they weren't, but their eyes followed him as he toddled into the kitchen and walked right up to Beth, pulling on her jean-clad leg. Beth looked down to Aiden and smiled before lifting her eyes, looking to Spencer and Rosita across the room, asking them for permission.

Beth had baked peanut butter cookies that afternoon and could easily do so with just three ingredients. Eggs – which they had plenty of, sugar – which they had plenty of, and peanut butter – which they had plenty of jars down in their root cellar.

Spencer and Rosita both smiled and nodded and Beth smiled down at Aiden as she took a peanut butter cookie from the plate on the counter and handed one to him.

"What do you say, Aiden?" Rosita asked her son.

Aiden had already took a large bite of the cookie and he looked up at Beth. "Fank you, Bef!" He exclaimed and Beth laughed, crouching down and kissing his head.

"You are very welcome," she said and he smiled at her before he took another bite of cookie and toddled back to his toys on the floor.

Daryl and Beth caught one another's eyes from across the room and they smiled at one another. Beth left the kitchen to come to him and he moved his arm so she could perch herself down on the arm of the rocking chair and she rested her head against his and they looked down at Eli together, the baby finally giving in and falling asleep.

…

* * *

 **Thank you so much for reading and please take a moment to leave a review!**


	20. Past

**Here is the time jump I've been mentioning. Also, I know some of you were really waiting for a chapter like this. I hope you like it. The image of Eli in the woods has been in my brain since the fifth chapter.**

* * *

…

 **Chapter Twenty.** Past.

"Boo!"

Anna hated herself a little for jumping. She turned and glared at the boy as he giggled, pulling himself from the bush he had just popped out of, and she didn't hesitate in reaching out and pushing him in the shoulder.

"Help me," she frowned at him. "Beth needs at least two baskets today."

Seven-year-old Aiden kept smiling as he dropped down to his knees beside her and resumed helping her with picking acorns from the ground. Late summer, early fall was the prime acorn picking season and in preparation of winter, they tried to collect as many as they could. They would fill bins and store them in the root cellar and then during the cold months, they would grind them down to use as flour.

Mulligan said they were in for a bad winter. There had been signs all around them and they were making their preparations sooner and making them in greater numbers. Every day, Beth and Rosita went out to pick as many mushrooms and berries and plants as they could now while things were still alive and in bloom and the children were sent out for acorns. The geese and ducks had left early, flying in the sky each day in their v-shaped formations, heading south. The corn growing in the garden had thicker than normal husks, which Mulligan said was a tell-tale sign. Their bees had secluded themselves early within their hives and there had been quite a few heavy fogs in the mornings during the past month.

They had all lived through bad winters before, up here on their mountain, and they had all survived. They had lost a couple of their animals when it got particularly cold, but they all always made it through. If they were going to have another bad winter, all they could do was be as prepared as possible.

Anna began humming a song as they worked and Aiden, recognizing it, began humming along and they looked at one another, sharing a smile. But then, Anna suddenly stopped and she jerked her head up, looking around with a frown.

"Where's Eli?" She asked.

Aiden's own head whipped up, just realizing himself that the boy wasn't with them anymore, too. He opened his mouth and Anna knew he was about to call out. She slapped her hand over his mouth before he could. They _never_ yelled.

Aiden swallowed and nodded at her with wide eyes and she slowly moved her hand back. She stood up, taking her basket of acorns with her. "Come on," she told him in a quiet, yet commanding voice, and she began running back towards their land. She heard Aiden right behind her with his own basket of acorns.

Eli wasn't the sort to just wander off. He was five, yes, but he knew the rules. And one of the rules – the rule the children had learned so early on – was to never wander off anywhere on their own. The only reason they were allowed to pick acorns without one of the adults with them was because they stayed near the creek, which was just a stone's throw away from their fence. That and Anna was around fourteen now, they thought, and Daryl had been teaching her self defense for years.

They ran through the gate and nearly smacked right into Aaron, who was walking past them with a crate of freshly picked tomatoes in his arms, heading inside to get them ready to be canned and stored for winter.

"Whoa. What's going on?" He asked the two breathless kids.

"Eli," Anna panted and that was all she had to say.

Aaron set the crate of tomatoes down on the ground and went off running, Anna and Aiden following after him. Beth and Spencer were in the garden, weeding and pulling corn from the stalks that were ready to be picked. Their garden had gotten much larger over the past few years they had been here and they grew corn more than anything else. They still had their potatoes, tomatoes and cabbage and even pumpkins now, too, but corn was in so much of what they ate and ground it up for nearly everything.

"Beth," Aaron said as Aiden rushed past them and ran right to his dad.

"What's wrong?" Beth asked, standing up, and she froze when she saw only two of the kids instead of three. She immediately looked to Anna. "Where's Eli?" She asked.

"We were going to pull a trick on Anna," Aiden spoke up. "But when I jumped out of the bush to scare her…" he trailed off because he didn't know.

"Something must have gotten his attention," Anna finished.

Spencer frowned down at his son. "You were supposed to be picking acorns," he said. "There's time later for you to play, but it's not right now."

Beth rushed off, finding Daryl behind the barn, swinging the axe and splitting wood, adding to their supply. He was grunting and sweating and the _whack_ was steady. He saw Beth from the corner of his eye and he stopped swinging, looking at her curiously. But then he saw Beth's panic and fear clear on her face and he stepped towards her.

"Wha' is it?" He asked, his hand going to her elbow.

Beth swallowed and tried to remind herself to breathe. "Eli… he's wandered off and Anna and Aiden… they don't know…" She was gasping. She couldn't get any more words out, but they were more than enough words.

Daryl didn't wait for her to say anything else. He grabbed his crossbow from where it was leaning against the back of the barn and he took off, Beth following after him.

He didn't stop. "Anna," he called to the girl and Anna came immediately, following both Daryl and Beth as they ran out of the gate.

…

If the rabbit knew Eli was following him, he didn't act like it. He just kept hopping, occasionally stopping to sniff at something or to wiggle its nose or twitch its ears. Eli had his knife out – the knife his daddy had given him to wear whenever he went outside to gather acorns – and his fingers tightened around the handle now, careful of the blade. He imagined himself getting the rabbit and bringing it home and how proud his daddy will be and his mama will be able to make a stew for dinner.

Eli had never caught a rabbit on his own, but he had been on plenty of hunts with his daddy and he was teaching him what to do.

The rabbit hopped a couple more feet before stopping once again and Eli crept closer, but then, he heard a branch snap nearby and while the rabbit took off in alarm, Eli dove into a thicket of bushes, his hand still clutching his knife. He knelt, completely covered in the foliage, and he peered out, waiting to see what was coming. He could feel it in his stomach; on the back of his neck. His daddy called them his instincts and he was never supposed to ignore them.

Everything meant something.

Eli didn't move a muscle as he heard footsteps. They weren't walkers. They didn't shuffle. They were even; purposely trying to be quiet. Eli peered through the leaves, watching and waiting. He saw the black jean-clad legs and the brown cowboy boots before he saw the rest of him. He was a lean man with a brown beard and curly hair. There was a gun in a holster around his waist and a hatchet looped through his belt.

There was another man – tall and younger than the first man – but his brown hair was the same shade and they had the same jaw. He wore an eye patch and a brown hat shoved on his head.

"You scared it away," the younger man said.

"I did not," the first man responded and it looked like was trying not to smile. "You're the one who's been stomping around this mountain for the past two days, making sure we don't catch anything to bring back."

"He doesn't deserve anything," the younger grumbled.

The man stopped and sighed heavily, his hands on his hips. He looked around for a moment. "Well, we have to find something. Another rabbit or some squirrels, at least. Nothing else to eat around here."

Eli frowned at that. Were these men blind? They were standing in the middle of a dandelion carpet and on the trees around them, chicken of the woods mushrooms grew. His mama could make the best soup with both of those things. There was food all around them.

"We need to start heading back," the young man said. "I don't even know where we are and we've been walking for days. He said we could be gone for a week."

Eli couldn't stop it from happening.

He sneezed.

The two men instantly pulled their guns out and pointed them towards the bushes. Eli closed his eyes and exhaled. There was no way of getting out of this one. He had actually never seen another person besides his family, but his daddy told him stories. Mama, too. They all did. People were bad. People were just as bad as the walkers and Eli was to never go near them.

"Get on out here," the older man ordered in a hardened tone.

Eli figured he could run. He was a fast runner. But these men looked like they could run, too, and they would probably catch up to him easily. Eli knew this mountain though. He knew where to go and where to hide and he could lose these men if he got a head-start. And then he would tell his daddy and Mulligan that there were people around and they would go out and do whatever it was that they did.

Slowly, Eli crawled out from the bushes and stood up, looking at the two men. And as soon as they saw it was a little boy, they lowered their guns. They both looked surprised and Eli stared at them, not saying a word.

"Hello," the older man said.

Eli didn't say anything. He just stared at them and they stared right back.

"Dad," the younger man said and glanced at the other man before back to Eli. "He looks just like-"

"What's your name?" The older asked.

Eli stared at him and still didn't speak.

"Do you live around here?"

Eli kept staring at him. There was no way he would ever answer that question.

"What's your name?" He asked again. "We won't hurt you," he then said.

Eli didn't let on, but behind the two men, his daddy was coming. Daryl's crossbow was loaded and aimed and he took silent steps, creeping up behind the two men. He didn't see his mama, but he knew that she was close by, too. He could feel her. Eli looked back to the two men, not wanting to give away that Daryl was coming up on them, his crossbow aimed right at the back of the head of the older man.

"We won't hurt you," the younger man repeated the words already said.

"You damn right you're not gonna hurt 'im," Daryl's gruff voice answered and the two men instantly froze in place. "Drop your guns," he ordered even though they were hanging at their sides and no longer pointing at anything. The two men listened and the guns dropped to the ground.

Beth appeared from where Daryl had told her to stay and she rushed past them to Eli. Eli dropped his own knife and Beth dropped to her knees in front of him, pulling him into her arms and hugging him tightly.

"You are in so much trouble, young man," she told him and Eli just nodded, burying his head into her shoulder.

"Beth?"

"Daryl?"

The two men were staring at her with slightly opened mouths and wide eyes.

Beth gasped sharply as she got her first look at who the two men were and she stood up, never taking her eyes from them. Daryl's jaw and arms flexed and then slowly, he lowered his crossbow as the men turned so they were able to look at both Beth and Daryl. They all stared at one another as if they had just all seen the same ghost.

Beneath her feet, Beth felt the earth tilt slightly to the side and she put her hands on Eli's shoulders as if that would balance her once again. She hadn't seen them in so long, she could hardly believe that she was actually seeing them right now; that they were both standing right in front of her. It had been so long, she hadn't even known if they were still alive or not. And she was sure they had thought the same about her.

They both looked much skinnier than the last time she saw them at the prison on that so-awful day; as if perhaps they hadn't been eating as well as they should. Carl was taller and his hair was longer, but the biggest change to him was the eye patch he wore over his right eye. He seemed so much older while in reality, he was supposed to be a few years younger than her.

"Oh my god," Beth's hand went over her open mouth and she took a step forward before stopping herself; as if she wasn't entirely sure she should approach them.

But Carl made both of their minds up and he was the one to close the space between them and he wrapped her up in his arms, hugging her tightly, and after a stunned second, she wrapped her own arms around his thin body. She didn't realize she was crying until she felt the dampness of her cheeks.

And when Carl pulled back, Rick was there, taking his turn at hugging her.

Daryl was still standing there, his crossbow in his hands and he hadn't moved from his spot, staring at this all happening in front of him and clearly not believing it.

Rick pulled back from Beth, his own eyes wet to match hers.

"What are you doing here?" Beth managed to get the words out.

Rick laughed. "What are _you_ doing here?" He asked back. "And who is this?" He looked down to Eli with a faint smile and the boy inched himself behind Beth shyly, not at all used to people and not too eager to be used to them.

"This is our son," Beth smiled with a gentle hand on Eli's head. "Eli."

Rick lifted his eyes to Beth. "Our?" He echoed.

She nodded once. "Yes. Daryl and I." Beth could see Daryl tense ever so slightly, his fingers clutching the crossbow tightly and she knew that he was waiting for what Rick's reaction would be to them of being together.

But Rick looked to Daryl and gave him a small smile before looking back to Beth and Eli, looking down to the boy with another smile.

"I should have known. He looks just like a mini-Daryl," Rick joked and Beth laughed, amazed that she could stand in front of this man she hadn't seen for years and laugh.

"What are you doing here?" Beth asked him again.

"Carl and I have been traveling for a few days. Looking for something to eat," Rick explained though in Beth's mind, that didn't explain anything. Last she heard, they were hours north, in what used to be Virginia, and she and Daryl and others were deep up in the mountains. Of all of the mountains to be on, Rick and Carl had picked this one to try and find food on the same day their son had wandered off on his own.

Her thoughts went to her own daddy for a moment. Hershel would say that this was divine intervention; that they were all meant to see one another again someday.

Questions flooded her mind to ask Rick. Who was alive? Was Maggie? How was Maggie? Was her sister maybe with them? Was Judith still alive? Were they safe?

Eli tugged gently on her hand and she looked down to him.

"There are dandelions," he said quietly.

She smiled at him. "We have plenty at home. Should we share some with them?"

Eli didn't say anything. He just nodded and she took his hand, giving it a squeeze.

"I have soup at our home. Would you like some?" Beth asked both Carl and Rick.

"God, yes," Carl answered, sighing with relief.

Beth looked down to Eli. "These are your daddy's and my very good friends. This is Carl and this is Rick. We've known them for a very long time."

"Hey, Eli," Carl said with an easy smile.

Beth squeezed Eli's hand again and then bent down, picking up his knife and handing it back to him, watching him slip it back into the sheath. "Anna's waiting for us, too. You scared her and you should apologize to her," she said and Eli nodded. "She's at the bottom of the slope."

Eli nodded again and pulling his hand from Beth's, he went running ahead. Beth glanced over her shoulder to see that Rick had gone to Daryl now and the two men had shaken hands, Rick clasping his other hand tightly on Daryl's shoulder.

Beth could imagine how much the two men had to talk about.

"Who's Anna?" Carl asked as they followed after Eli.

"She's been with us for years. She was about six when she was found in a storage room. We think she's around fourteen now," Beth said and then smiled with something of motherly pride, thinking of all of the ways that Anna had grown.

Carl nodded and put his hands in his pockets. "I can't believe you guys are alive."

Beth laughed lightly; softly. She looked to him with a smile. "The feeling's mutual."

…

Beth was crying so hard, she felt like she couldn't breathe.

Daryl had pulled her aside after dinner and had told her what he and Rick had talked about on their own. She had heard the words and could hardly believe them, but Daryl's hands were gently holding hers as he told her in that soft, gentle voice of his.

She didn't even remember climbing the stairs and then the ladder up to their home, but she was here now, on their bed, crying so hard, her throat and chest ached.

She heard the wood floor creak and she felt the bed dip. She opened her eyes enough to see that it was Eli. He had crawled onto the bed and laid down on his stomach, his head turned towards hers and he looked at her. Beth did her best to try and stop crying, but it seemed as if the harder she tried to stop, the more she couldn't. She closed her eyes and her body shook and she felt Eli's hand on her hair.

She wondered if Daryl had told him about the family he had never met and never would.

All of these years, she had always thought of Maggie. Of course she had. That was her sister and though Beth hadn't wanted to go find the family – after she and Daryl discussed it and came to the decision together years earlier – she had thought of the entire family. She had hoped they were safe and well and she had always thought that maybe, someday, they would all see one another someday; much in the way that Rick and Carl had found them that day. Divine intervention.

No matter how many miles or years separated them, Maggie was always her sister and Beth had loved her.

"It's okay, mommy," Eli said softly and all his comfort did was make her cry harder.

The wood floor creaked again and the bid dipped and she didn't have to open her eyes to know that it was now Daryl who had come. She kept her eyes closed.

She had heard the others – Rosita, Spencer and Aaron, as well as Eric before he died – talk about the man, Negan. They had said he was cruel and the worst man any of them had ever encountered, but they had never elaborated and Beth and Daryl had never asked them to.

But Rick had told Daryl and Daryl had wanted to tell her so she would know, too.

Negan had beaten Glenn to death – right in front of them all – and Maggie had died shortly after – of a broken heart, Rick had said.

Beth had always thought she would have been able to know if Maggie was still alive or if something had happened to her and this whole time, Beth had thought her sister was alive. But no, she had died. She had been dead for years now, and Beth had just gone along with her life, making teas and baking breads and having absolutely no idea that something so terrible had happened to her family.

She felt a warm, familiar hand on the side of her head, brushing hair back from her face, and she moved closer to both Eli and Daryl lying on the other side of him. Daryl's arm dropped to her lower back and he draped it over both of them.

"Negan let Carl and Rick go for one week," Daryl said. "They'll be due back in a couple more days. Got lost as hell. I promised Rick we'd go out and catch a boar for 'em to take back. Maybe a wild turkey, too."

Beth opened her eyes, looking at their son as he stared at her, and then to Daryl.

"Rick ain't gonna mention a word 'bout us," Daryl said. "If Negan asks, Rick's jus' gonna tell 'im that they hunted 'em themselves. We're too far 'way anyway, too far South, and Rick honestly has no idea where we are. We're safe here."

Beth hadn't even thought of Rick telling Negan about them. That was something she could never imagine Rick doing.

She exhaled a shaky breath. "This whole time, I just thought I would _know_ the instant anything happened to her. This whole time, I just thought she was alive."

Daryl didn't say anything. She knew that Daryl never felt comfortable when it came to things like this, always worried that he would say the wrong thing, and honestly, Beth just needed him here, with her, and he knew it.

"What do you think?" Beth asked quietly, her throat raw. "About Negan?"

Daryl was quiet for a moment and then shook his head. "I don't know. 'm thinkin' there's a lot more to it that Rick's been lettin' 'imself be ruled by this guy for all of these years. 'specially after…" he paused. "After what he did to Glenn."

Beth closed her eyes for a moment, her brother-in-law flashing across her mind and then, of course, thoughts of Glenn led to thoughts of Maggie and she felt a fresh round of tears burn the back of her eyes.

"Are we safe here?" Eli's question was quiet and both Beth and Daryl immediately looked at him. Daryl squeezed his arm around them both and Beth put her own arm around Eli's middle, hugging him.

"You bet your ass we're safe here," Daryl told their son and usually, Beth did not allow any cursing to be spoken around Eli – a rule she constantly had to remind Mulligan of – but she thought that right now, maybe it was just what Eli needed – and her as well – to hear.

"How old are you?" Daryl asked.

Eli held up a hand, showing his five fingers.

"'s right. And in all your life, how many people you seen who ain't us?" Daryl asked. Eli lowered his hand and didn't say anything and kept looking at him. "'s right," he said again. "You know how big these Appalachian Mountains are?"

"Mulligan says they stretch as far as the land," Eli said.

"They do," Beth spoke up. "And the woods are thick and some of the mountains too tall for most men to climb. And like your daddy said, no one knows we're here."

Eli nodded and she kissed his forehead.

She looked to Daryl. "What did Rick say about us?" She couldn't help but wonder.

The corner of Daryl's mouth twitched upwards. "He said it actually makes sense."

And for the first time in what felt like hours, Beth felt like smiling. But then she felt guilty for smiling, see as how she had just found out a little bit ago her sister was dead. She closed her eyes and exhaled a breath and Daryl's hand rubbed comforting circles on her back.

"We're gonna head out first thing tomorrow," Daryl said quietly.

Beth kept her eyes closed as she nodded. "I'll make you corncakes to take with you before you go."

…

* * *

 **Rick's POV in the next chapter just because there are a lot of descriptions to write and I want us to see it through his eyes. Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to comment! (And I have absolutely no plans of having Negan find them. It would be impossible for him to and that's not how I want the story to go.)**


	21. Bark

**The response to the last chapter blew me away. I was not expecting it and I didn't even know if it would be liked the way I wrote it. So thank you a million times. Your love and support of this story means more to me than I can ever explain. A Daryl/Beth apocalypse date night was requested and I think that's the best idea for the next chapter.**

* * *

…

 **Chapter Twenty-One.** Bark.

Spencer and Rosita had another baby – a girl. They named her Beatrice, after Rosita's mother, but everyone called her Bee. She was a girl of three with dark hair like her mom and her eyes were curious as she sat at the table in the kitchen across from Rick, silent and studying as he sat across from her. He gave her a small smile, but she had no reaction and just kept staring.

Daryl had told him yesterday. Eli, Aiden and Bee had never see another person who wasn't a part of their family and he and Carl were getting curious looks from all of the kids that morning, ever since they had woken up, and last night, too, at dinner.

"Here, Rick." Beth came and placed a tin cup of steaming water that smelled like flowers down in front of him. "We don't have any coffee, but the tea is good. I promise. I make it myself."

"It smells great. Thank you, Beth," Rick smiled warmly at her.

She gave him a smile and then turned back towards the wood stove in the middle of the room, where she was frying tomato slices in an iron pan. Rick sipped his tea and took a moment to look around the kitchen. He had been so tired and overwhelmed the day before when Daryl and Beth had brought him back here, he had hardly gotten the chance to look at everything. And there was so much to look at.

Bushels of flowers and different sorts of plants he couldn't identify were tied and hung upside down from the ceiling rafters above their heads, drying out. Jars were lined the two shelves on the wall – different flours, honey that glistened as the sun coming through the window hit it, corn kernels, something ground up and yellow that Rick couldn't identify, a thick syrup that almost reminded him of maple syrup, but how the hell had they gotten syrup?, different mushrooms, a jar with a powder that looked like cocoa and another that looked like maybe it was cinnamon and then jars of sugar and salt and pepper.

Nearly everything was made of wood. The walls, the floor, the ceiling, the door and most of the furniture. There were pages ripped from coloring books, colored with colored pencils, hanging on the walls as well as snowflakes, stars and hearts cut out from pieces of construction paper – all crafts from the kids. There were candles, stacks of books, a sewing machine in the corner of the living room, a pile of wood for the fireplace. It seemed as if every available inch in the house was in use and yet, somehow, it all looked clean and organized.

His eyes went back to Bee. She was still watching him.

Rick took another sip of the tea. It was amazing to him that Rosita had been able to have two children – two perfectly healthy children – and she was healthy as well.

Beth set a plate of the tomato slices down on the table and then went to the back door, having been left open to get the gentle breeze that was blowing outside. She didn't shout, but she let out a whistle before returning to the stove. In the same frying pan, she took the eggs that had been brought in that morning and she cracked a few, frying them up, adding a dash of pepper.

"How often do you go on runs?" Rick asked.

Beth kept her eyes on the eggs. "About twice a year. If even that. There are houses and little stores all throughout these mountains. Sometimes, we get lucky. Sometimes, not," she ended with a shrug. "We have most of what we need and what we don't have, we've learned to live without. Someday, there won't be anything left."

Rick didn't say anything to that. That was something he had never wanted to admit to himself. He took another sip of his tea and he watched her as she cooked and moved around the kitchen. This room was obviously her domain.

She was older. Obviously. What had it been since he last saw her? Nine years? Ten? That had been such a horrible day. Hershel and the Governor and the prison being lost and his family running off in all different directions, scattering in the wind. And everything that had come after that… there had been peace. For a little bit. Once they found Alexandria. But that hadn't lasted either. Nothing lasted too long these days.

Except this place. This place had obviously lasted.

Hearing feet scampering, he took a sip of tea and looked to the backdoor as the boys, Aiden and Eli, ran in, pushing one another so they could get in first.

"Boys, manners," Beth said, not turning to look at them but knowing what they were doing anyway. "Get the plates and set the table, Aiden, please. Eli, silverware."

Both boys didn't protest and Aiden took the plates from the counter and Eli, the silverware, and as Aiden set the plates down at each chair at the table, Eli followed after him, putting down a fork and knife at each setting. Rick watched them, feeling amusement pull at the corners of his mouth. This was clearly what they did every morning; one of their chores. Daryl had told him the day before that they all had things they did every day to keep this place going.

Aaron entered next, a bucket in his hand. He set it down on the counter and then took a cup, dipping it in. "Here you go, Bee," he smiled at the girl and handed her a cup of the milk and Bee smiled at him before taking the cup with both hands. It was clearly what she had been waiting for. Her eyes went back to Rick and looked at him from over the rim of her cup as she drank.

Rosita and Spencer entered through the backdoor next, Spencer wearing his white undershirt and Rosita holding his plaid shirt in her hands.

"Seriously?" She was asking him with a frown on her face. "You have to stop. It's not like I can drive to Jo-Ann's for more fabric to make you another shirt."

"It was an accident," Spencer said as he went to the table and picking Bee up, he sat down in the chair and settled her in his lap.

"That's your excuse for everything," Rosita said, heading into the living room for her sewing basket.

"Just with the kids," Spencer grinned at her and she rolled her eyes.

Anna and Mulligan came in as Beth was putting down a plate of fried eggs. Beth didn't say anything, but she just gave Mulligan a look as he sat down at the table. She stood there with a raised eyebrow and Mulligan sat there, staring at her, and it seemed to go one for at least a minute until with a heavy sigh, Mulligan stood up again and went to the sink where Anna already was, washing her hands, to wash his, too.

Beth returned to the stove to fry up the rest of the eggs. Rick sat in his chair and sipped his tea and watched it all.

This was a family; a well-oiled machine that had gotten that way from years of being together and having only each other to work with and depend on and build a life together. The first time he met Rosita, they had been in that storage crate at Terminus and he had known immediately that she had been one tough girl. And Aaron and Spencer had both been at Alexandria and Aaron had been nice, but Rick had gotten the idea that he had been weak and Spencer had definitely been weak and sheltered. He never would have guessed that these three – of all of those in Alexandria – would band together and leave and still be together after all of these years. And for them to meet up with Daryl and Beth of all people…

It was incredible and unbelievable all at the same time.

They had really made something for themselves up here.

After the prison, there had been such chaos. He had been with Carl and he had no idea where anyone else was. He had thought Judith had died; that everyone had. Finding Michonne had been a miracle and then finding _almost_ everyone else…

Rick shouldn't have stopped looking. He knew Daryl. Daryl was like his brother and he should have known that Daryl had gotten out of the prison, alive. He should have known that nothing would have been able to kill Daryl. And Rick felt guilty for feeling surprise at Beth having made it this long; and being the woman in front of him now, clearly strong and important to this family and their survival.

Beth set the other plate of eggs down and she sat down, but no one made a move to take the eggs or tomatoes onto their plates yet. It was only when Daryl came in and sat down in the last empty chair did they all begin serving themselves.

"Should I get Carl?" Rick asked as Rosita slid two tomato slices onto his plate.

"Let 'im sleep," Daryl was the one to say. "We've got a long day ahead of us and he should get his rest while he can get it."

Rick nodded and began eating his breakfast. They had chickens in Alexandria. Eggs was one of their main payments to Negan every week, and the people in Alexandria were able to eat plenty of eggs. And yet, there was something about these. Perhaps because he hadn't eaten any in nearly a week. He was starving. When he finished three tomato slices and his two eggs, Aaron, sitting next to him, scooped two more eggs and one more tomato slice onto his plate.

"Yes," Aaron said when he saw Rick about to protest.

"I'm okay," Rick said anyway with a shake of his head, about to push his plate away.

"We've got plenty," Daryl grunted.

Eli was sitting on his knee, leaving the one other chair at the table empty for when Carl did wake up, and like Bee, Eli was watching Rick as Eli drank his own cup of milk; as if Rick was the most interesting thing they had ever seen. It was amazing to him that these kids had never seen someone outside of who sat at this table. Was it really that possible to be that secluded in this world?

 _We've got plenty_.

Rick admitted that he wasn't used to that. So much of the past few years had been about rationing. They had food, yes, and got to eat every day, but half of their food went to Negan and his group and what was left over had to be divided between everyone else who lived in Alexandria. They did their best. They had the chickens and eggs and they grew as many vegetables as they could, but the past couple of years, they hadn't gotten as much rain as they had hoped.

He was almost intimidated by the food in front of him on the table.

"I'm going to make you corncakes to take with you so you have something to eat this afternoon while you're hunting," Beth spoke up and Rick lifted his eyes from his plate to look at her, sitting across from him. She spoke with a gentle smile; as if she could peer into his mind right now and read his thoughts. "I make them with honey and lavender. Is that alright?"

Rick managed his own small smile. "That sounds great, Beth. Thanks." He paused. "I've never had a corncake before."

"You'll love 'em!" Eli exclaimed. "Mama makes the best corncakes."

"You'd eat the dirt if we'd let you," Daryl said, keeping an arm around Eli's middle as he leaned in closer to his plate to finish up his eggs.

"You saying my corncakes taste like dirt?" Beth asked him with a raised eyebrow.

Daryl didn't say anything; just gave her a smile and kept eating.

Rick couldn't help but watch them. What he had said to Daryl yesterday was the truth. He wouldn't have thought so, but something about Daryl and Beth just made sense. There was a level of comfort and love there that Rick couldn't remember ever seeing from Daryl before.

"You're not gonna make jus' them corncakes, are you?" Mulligan asked with a frown.

"No, Mulligan. I'll make you some, too," Beth replied.

Rick looked to the man, Mulligan, who he had met yesterday. He seemed nice enough. He had given up his bed so he and Carl had a place to sleep while he stretched himself out in the barn with the animals. When Rick had thanked him, Mulligan had just shrugged and said it didn't matter to him where he laid his head.

More than that though, this was his home and he had opened it up for the others to come and stay with him and live here. Daryl had explained it shortly to him yesterday as they had walked back from where they had first run into Eli. Mulligan had let them stay in the first place mainly because of Beth's cooking. That had only piqued Rick's interest. He didn't know she knew how to cook; especially do it so well where it could convince a stranger to share his home.

They all turned their heads when they heard a floorboard creak and Carl shuffled out of the bedroom.

"Sorry," he said once he saw them all sitting at the table, eating.

He sat down in the empty chair next to Anna and Rick and Daryl both noticed the way that Anna scooted a little bit away from him, as if she was uncertain of the young man. Spencer took Carl's empty plate in front of him and gave him the rest of the eggs and tomato slices. He also poured him a cup of milk.

"Thanks," Carl said, picking up his fork and digging in immediately.

"About this Negan fellow…" Mulligan began to speak.

"Not at the table," Rosita was the one to interrupt him with a sharp look before glancing towards the kids. She was sewing the tear in Spencer's shirt and she bit off the string with her teeth, probably with more force than necessary, but the topic of Negan definitely wasn't her favorite and she _never_ wanted to hear his name again.

Rick didn't blame her. He wasn't comfortable talking about Negan in front of any of them. He'd rather just sit here and drink his tea and watch everything around him. It was amazing to him and he admitted that he was slightly envious of it all. Ever since he woke up in that hospital room so long ago, he had never known such peace as Daryl clearly had on this mountain with the rest of his family.

He wished it was possible that he and Carl could just stay here with them, but that wasn't an option to even _think_ about. Not when the rest of his family was still back in Alexandria, all waiting for him to get back.

…

Beth sat on their bed, watching Daryl at their dresser, packing his pack to take with him. Outside the window that their bed was against, she could look down and see Eli, he and Aiden helping Aaron in the garden that morning, pulling weeds. She watched for a moment before turning her head back, looking at Daryl once more.

"You will come back, right?" She asked before she could stop herself. "You'll hunt them down a turkey or a deer and then you'll come back, won't you?"

Daryl stopped and looked at her. "Where the hell you think I'm goin'?"

"Back with them. To Virginia," she said and she didn't realize how scared she felt all of a sudden until she felt the knot in her stomach and identified it as such.

"I ain't leavin' these mountains," Daryl said. He shoved a pair of socks into his pack to take – just in case he needed them – and he then came and sat down next to Beth on the bed, his hand sliding to rest on her thigh. "Why you think I would?" He asked.

"Because Rick obviously needs your help," she said. "He doesn't even look the same…" she trailed off with a shake of her head.

She thought of the confident leader from the farm and at the prison – before Lori. But even after that, his strength always was able to break through no matter how hard he tried to keep it hidden. The man who had sat at their table that morning had clearly been broken down for the past few years and it broke her heart.

"Rick said they got a truck. I guess these guys, Negan and whatever the hell his group is called, is able to make gas from corn or somethin'. They gave Rick a truck and told 'im not to come back empty-handed. I ain't lettin' him."

Beth swallowed and nodded and she couldn't move her eyes away from him.

Daryl leaned in and rested his forehead to hers and Beth exhaled a breath she had been holding. He didn't say anything else and Beth honestly just wanted the silence; the chance to sit with him and feel him before he left. Would Negan be satisfied with a couple of turkeys or a wild boar or elk? Or would Rick return with this meat and Negan would want him to constantly go and bring more back?

This man who had beaten Glenn to death and had killed Maggie, Beth had never even seen this man's face and she was completely terrified of him. She wasn't naïve and living up here, she hadn't forgotten just how terrible the people left in the world had gotten. Just because she didn't see anyone anymore mean she had forgotten. She had told Daryl there were still good people. Mulligan was proof of that. But there were also awful people and just hearing Negan's name, it gave her chills.

She lifted her head from Daryl's and looked around their home. Their tree house. It was an octagon shape with hers and Daryl's bed in an alcove on one side and around on the other side, Eli had his little bed in another alcove. It was a hodgepodge of different woods from the different houses Daryl had torn apart in order to build theirs. He had gotten a desk for her so she could sit and write in her journal and there was an old wood stove to keep them warm in the winter. There was a tin can built into their wall that connected to another can in the cabin with a string so they could communicate with the others in the cabin if they didn't want to come down.

It was their home. Daryl had built it. And it was absolutely perfect.

Beth wanted to spend the rest of her life here, with Daryl and with their son.

"Hey," Daryl said quietly and his hand lifted to the side of her face. Beth turned her head back to look at him. "I'm gonna do anythin' I can to help Rick. But I ain't leavin' you and Eli and these mountains to do it."

Beth swallowed and nodded and with her hands on his cheeks, she kissed him.

…

"Still walk like a damn buffalo," Daryl grumbled and Rick actually felt himself grin as they walked side by side, following the slope down.

The view was breathtaking to say the least – trees and sky stretching as far as his eye could reach. And it was quiet. Just birds and wind and the occasional scamper of a some small animal he couldn't see. It was no wonder why Daryl had come up here. And Rick hated himself for not thinking of it himself and his family years earlier.

Carl walked ahead of them, looking down at the ground, studying it, and then looking around to make sure a walker wasn't coming their way.

"He's got Judith," Rick said suddenly and Daryl had been looking down at the ground, trying to pick up the trail of anything, but at Rick's words, his head jerked up and he looked at the man beside him. Rick swallowed, looking ahead so he didn't have to look at Daryl's face and his reaction when he told him this. "It happened after Glenn. I was… like how I was after Lori. Negan came to Alexandria for his first payment and… and he took her. Thought she'd be better off, being raised by somehow who could keep her safe."

Rick swallowed again and Daryl felt his fingers tighten around his crossbow. He could just imagine how awful it was – seeing Glenn being beat to death in front of them – but Daryl couldn't imagine himself letting someone just take his kid.

Thinking of Eli now and anyone putting their hands on him, Daryl had killed people before and he wouldn't hesitate to kill anyone who even _thought_ of taking him away from him and Beth.

"He's nice to her and he's got people to take care of her and I get to see her," Rick said. "But I do whatever he wants because I don't know what he'll do to her if I don't." He exhaled a sigh. "I can just guess what you're thinking right now."

Daryl shrugged his shoulders. "Ain't thinkin' anythin'," he responded. He definitely wasn't thinking about Lil' Asskicker and the last time he saw her, she was little enough to be cradled in his arms.

"Yes, you are," Rick guessed correctly. He was quiet for a moment. "I'm not the same," he then said in a quiet voice.

Daryl thought that over for a moment. "None of us are," he then said.

Carl turned then and looked at them. "Can we eat?" He asked.

"You just ate a few hours ago," Rick reminded him, but Daryl was already taking the pack off from his back.

"'s a'right," he said. "Beth packed plenty." He set the pack down and opened it up, pulling out a plastic container. "We'll save the corncakes for later. Have some of this." He pulled the lid back, revealing strips of tree bark. He smirked a little when he saw Carl's unsure look at the sight. "Trus' me on this. She boils it and sprinkles it with cinnamon. 's one of our favorite things to eat. Better than a candy bar."

Carl smirked at that and then reached in, taking a strip out. Both Daryl and Rick watched as he took his first bite. After a moment of chewing and thinking, he then gave a nod. "It's good," he decided.

Rick and Daryl helped themselves to their own strips.

They were quiet for a few minutes, eating and looking at the landscape.

"How'd Beth even know how to do this?" Carl asked after finishing one and taking another. He looked to Rick. "That could have been something we could have used."

Daryl shrugged. "Read and experimented and figured out what worked."

"I can't wait to try the corncakes," Carl said.

Daryl nodded. "You're gonna love 'em as much as tree bark."

Carl smiled at that and despite the eye patch and his now tall height, Daryl was reminded of the little kid at the farm, always trying to act so tough and grown up. He had driven Daryl crazy back then and would have given him a swift smack on the butt if he had any right whatsoever to and if he thought it would help Carl from always wandering away in the middle of a damn apocalypse.

But that was so long ago and Carl was a man now. Daryl almost hated that he had missed it and hadn't been with them this whole time, but he hoped that Eli never had to grow up in the ways that Carl clearly had.

"Thanks for doing all of this," Rick said.

Daryl looked at him and it didn't matter that so many years had passed or that they had all changed so much.

He simply nodded. "'s what we do."

Daryl packed the bark back up and put it back into the pack before slinging it onto his back again. He picked the crossbow back up and they began walking again. His eyes studied the ground, trying to find the tracks of something they could hunt down and the sooner, the better.

It was amazing to him that he was hunting with Rick at his side again – almost unbelievable – but Rick had a home to get back to and so did Daryl.

…

* * *

 **Thank you so much for reading and please take a moment to leave me a comment!**


	22. Rain

**Just a reminder: This is not a Negan story or a story about the old Team Family. This is about Daryl and Beth's life that they have carved out for themselves in the mountains. I hate seeing everyone so scared. Don't be scared! As always, I love how some of you really love this story. Thank you for the reviews and the support.**

* * *

…

 **Chapter Twenty-two.** Rain.

Beth watched with a nervous feeling clenching her stomach as they all took bites of her newest creation and all chewed, letting their tongues register the taste before giving her their opinions. She had been reading a book and the woman had baked a fig and pepper bread and the author had put the actual recipe on the back page. Beth knew they didn't have figs or the right kind of pepper, but the bread sounded so delicious and Beth wanted to experiment and try her own version.

She had added black pepper and mulberries together in the dough, hoping that it would work the same way; that the spiciness and sweetness would combat one another and provide a harmonious balance in the bread. She had no idea if it would work, but she still wanted to try – which was risky just in a supplies point of view – but it was exciting for her to try and make new things. They had plenty of food provided to them on these mountains, but there were only so many ways she could prepare mushrooms, cabbage and dandelions.

She stood at the head of the table and watched as Mulligan finished his slice and reached for another. Beth didn't take that as gospel though. Mulligan ate just about anything. He was wonderful for her self-esteem, but not when she wanted honesty.

"I didn't know how much pepper I should have used," Beth said. "Is there too much pepper?" She watched them all.

Daryl looked up at her and then moved his arm around her waist, pulling her to sit down across his lap. She blushed. "'s amazin'," he said to her once he swallowed his last bite.

Beth's smile was instant. "Really?" She asked him and then looked at the others.

Aaron nodded as he finished his slice. "It's really good, Beth. I knew exactly what you were trying to do with the two conflicting tastes."

Beth was beaming now.

"Good, mama!" Eli added his own opinion and everyone echoed the sentiment.

"Well, good," she smiled, unable to keep herself from sighing with relief. "I don't know how often I can make it though. I don't want to use all of our pepper for it." She paused. "Maybe I can use fennel. That might be a good mix with the berries."

"I will personally pick whatever you need so you can bake this again," Spencer said.

Daryl kept his arm around her as he leaned forward, cutting himself another slice from the loaf in the center of the table. He handed it to her and then cut one for himself. She smiled at him as she took a small bite and the burst of sweet and spice exploded on her tongue and she couldn't help it. She felt darn proud of herself.

It was a cool afternoon, the backdoor and the windows open, allowing the breeze to blow into the rooms of the cabin, and it smelled like rain, grey clouds gathering from the east, moving in. Summer was waning and another fall was upon them and before they would know it, winter would be here. Another year gone. It seemed to Beth as if she had blinked and so many years had passed.

But they were all still here. They were all still hanging on and doing pretty well; as well as a group of people can do these days. They had shelter and food and a safe wall that protected them from the one or two walkers they saw every couple of days or so. They all knew they were very isolated up here – from both walkers or people – but they never forgot the threats that could come from the other side of their wall. They were safe for the most part, but they didn't let themselves think they were too safe. Thinking that way led to compliancy and laziness and that all led to disaster.

None of them were ever going to slip and lose this home and family they had built. They all wanted to sit at this table and eat pepper and mulberry bread until they were all old with age and they'd do anything to ensure that happened.

Beth allowed her mind to linger on thoughts of Rick and the others for just a moment before she put her attention back to those sitting around her.

Aiden and Eli were whispering to one another and then Eli looked to Beth.

"Mama, can I sleep here tonight?" He asked.

"Sure, baby," Beth said as she pulled herself from Daryl's lap and went to the stove to check on the rest of dinner – a pot of clover and chickweed soup with boiled curled dock stalks, dandelions and carrots. None of their favorite, but it was something to eat and it filled them up and they didn't dare complain when Beth made it. And besides, the pepper and mulberry bread more than made up for eating like rabbits.

She heard Daryl stand up from his chair and she then felt him behind her.

"I got this," he said with a hand on her hip, gently pulling her back from the stove.

Beth gave him a smile and went back to the table to sit down in her chair that was next to his empty one. She sat across from Mulligan and watched as he licked his fingers, making sure he got every single crumb of bread and none was wasted. He gave her a quick wink and she smiled at him.

Daryl set bowls down in front of everyone and then walked around the table, carrying the pot and filling each bowl with soup. Eli giggled as Daryl passed by him and rubbed a hand on his head. He then returned the pot to the stove before sitting down once again beside Beth and they all began eating their soup and eating it with their final slices of bread and they all talked about their days, though each day was nearly the same as the day before. Thankfully.

Once the bread was gone and their bowls was empty and they remained at the table for another minute with full stomachs, Daryl changed the subject.

"'ve been doin' some thinkin'," he said and they all looked at him. "'fore we got to St. George, Beth and me were livin' in a prison with others and there was a lot of stuff that we had there. Stuff we had to leave when the walkers came pourin' in."

Beth felt everything inside of her go still. She knew what he was going to suggest before the words could even form on his tongue. She looked at him and wondered how long he had been thinking of this because he hadn't mentioned one word of it to her. But Daryl was like that. He was methodical in his planning and he didn't act rashly. He acted thorough. If he had been thinking about the prison, odds were he had been thinking of it for days now, maybe even weeks, and had worked out everything in his mind before even _thinking_ of talking about it with the others.

"What kind of stuff?" Mulligan was the one to ask.

"Food," Daryl answered. "We had those spices," he said, looking to Beth to see if she remembered and she nodded that she did. "More salt and pepper and flour. Had it sealed up tight so ain't no reason why it shouldn' still be good."

"What else?" Rosita asked, sitting up a bit in her chair, her eyes settled on him.

"We wouldn' take any of the canned stuff," Daryl said with a shake of his head. "Stuff would be goin' on way too many years now. We ain' gonna eat twelve-year-old tuna or canned pears. We don't need 'em. But the flour…"

"There was rice," Beth spoke up, remembering the supply room in the kitchen; she hadn't thought of it in years. "Maybe it is still sealed up like the flour and still good."

"'s right," Daryl nodded his head once, looking at her for a moment before looking back to the others. "And there'd be soap and blankets and a few more clothes for us."

They were all quiet for a moment, thinking it through all silently to themselves.

Beth thought of the books in the library and the buckets of crayons and sidewalk chalk that they had had for the kids and the clothes in the laundry room and the seeds that had been used for the garden. She hadn't thought of the prison in so long, but now that she was, she remembered just how much stuff had been in there. And hopefully, would _still_ be in there.

"My daddy's bible," she said softly and Daryl gave another nod, his hand sliding onto her thigh underneath the table, giving it a squeeze.

"How many walkers are we talking about?" Spencer asked, leaning forward, resting his arms on the table and his hands folded.

"Don't know," Daryl shrugged. "There was an explosion and the fence came down so plenty were drawn to it. More could have come or maybe they've all moved on."

"And you think all of this stuff is still there?" Rosita asked.

"Don't know that either," Daryl said.

"It's been years," Rosita pointed out to him.

"I know, so maybe there's nothin' left," he agreed. "But we won't know if we don't go and check."

They were all quiet again, thinking that over as well.

"How far away is this prison?" Mulligan asked.

"South. Maybe four hours by car," Daryl guessed.

"What's the plan?" Aaron asked and Daryl hoped that when he looked at the man then, Aaron could see the thanks in his eyes. No matter what Daryl suggested to the others, Aaron always was the first one on board.

"I want everyone except one of us goin'," Daryl said. "We need one to stay and look after the kids and the animals."

No one made a protest at that.

"We'd take Blackie and the wagon," Daryl continued. "Be prepared to be gone for about a week. Never know what we might find headin' there or headin' back."

"I'll go, too," Anna spoke up.

"Me, too!" Aiden volunteered quickly.

"No," Mulligan was the one to shake his head before any of the others could. "You both need to stay here and look after the animals."

And that was the truth and it had absolutely nothing to do with Aiden being seven and Anna being around fourteen. None of the adults said that even though they were all thinking it. They knew that if they mentioned age to the kids, it didn't matter how young or old they were. The kids would fight back on that one and this was going to be dangerous. No use in sugar-coating it. It was dangerous and the kids had no business being in the thick of it.

The rain began falling then – a light drizzle that tapped steadily on the roof overhead. Beth stood up and began collecting bowls, wanting to distract herself. Rosita stood up, too, to help her.

"What do you think?" Beth asked as they carefully loaded the dishes into the sink.

Rosita shook her head. "I have no idea. It sounds so good, but… it's been what? Twelve years? Eleven?" She asked and then shook her head again. "I don't know," she said and then glanced back to the table, looking at Spencer, Aiden and Bee as Spencer was challenging both kids to a thumb war at the same time.

Beth agreed, but at the same time, maybe things were still there in the prison that they could use. Daryl was right. They would never know if they didn't go and see.

"I got these, Beth. You cooked," Rosita said and pushed her away from the sink with her hip and Beth laughed a little as Rosita threw her a grin.

"Send Eli back to us if he gets to be too much tonight," Beth said.

"They're going to spend half of the night trying to scare Anna and Bee," Rosita smiled and so did Beth because that was the truth. "Don't be surprised if you see both boys tomorrow morning with a black eye."

"From Anna or Bee?" Beth joked and Rosita laughed.

Daryl was still at the table, talking with Mulligan, Aaron and Spencer, but when he saw her come back from the sink, he stood up. He leaned over and put his hands on either side of Eli's head, kissing him on the top of it.

"Be good," he said.

Beth kissed his head. "Don't torment Anna and Bee," she said and Eli just smiled as Aiden laughed behind his hand. Anna narrowed her eyes at both boys.

They all exchanged good nights and Beth and Daryl left the cabin, heading across the yard towards the stairs that led up to their treehouse. They didn't walk hurried though. The rain was light and cool and felt good on their skin. Beth walked up the steps first and Daryl stopped at the rain barrel, dunking the bucket in and filling it up so they could have fresh water up with them that night.

The stairs led up to an open landing where they sometimes slept out on in the summer and from there, the ladder led up to the door in the floor that took them inside. Beth climbed up and then turned, reaching down and taking the water bucket from Daryl so he could climb up, too. He turned and dropped the door down and hesitated for a moment before locking it, wanting just a little bit of time and privacy. Beth went and set the bucket down on the counter that Daryl had built and where Beth was able to store more of her jars of flowers and herbs she didn't keep in the main kitchen.

Daryl sat down on the bed to take his boots off and then laid down, stretching out and bending his arm back, putting it beneath his head. Beth joined him a moment later, taking off her own boots, and laying down beside him. His other arm wound around her shoulders and she rested her chin on his chest so she could look at his face as he seemed interested in something on their ceiling.

It was a little cool in there and the rain was falling a little heavier now, still steady.

"How long have you been thinking that?" She asked him quietly.

And Daryl had been anticipating the question, but he didn't answer it right away. Instead, he looked up at the ceiling for another moment before finally looking at her. His thumb began brushing back and forth in a small patch along her shoulder.

"Bee needs shoes. Spencer and me are goin' down the mountain tomorrow to try and find her some," Daryl said. "And then I was thinkin' of the kids at the prison and all the stuff we got for 'em there. You think 's a bad idea?"

Beth shook her head. "I never said that. I think it's a really, _really_ good idea. If the things are still there. It's just been so long."

"I know," he said and was quiet for a passing minute. "Gotta at least try and see."

"We should plan a trip to the farm, too," Beth said before she could stop and think it through before saying it out loud.

Daryl's thumb paused. "You wanna?"

She was quick to shake her head. "I can't imagine anything still being there. Someone probably raided the place a long time ago." But just thinking about her bedroom and all of the things left there that one night as the herd came upon them, it made Beth's stomach squeeze. The family pictures would still be there.

"Come 'ere," he said quietly and Beth recognized that tone.

Family pictures were instantly pushed from her mind.

His hands were gentle on the sides of her head and Beth pushed herself up, her lips pressing to his. She moved her body so she could lay down on top of him, stretching out, and Daryl's fingers slid backwards, tangling in her hair, keeping his mouth secured to hers. Beth's eyes stayed closed as her lips moved against his familiar ones, tasting him and feeling him and feeling the familiar tingles start to course down her body, shooting right between her thighs.

Daryl's arms wrapped around her and he began turning her over onto her back.

"Wait," Beth managed to say in a gasp. "Wait."

Daryl knew why she wanted to stop for the moment and his arms instantly let her go and as she hurried from the bed, he sat up to pull off his shirt. Beth hurried to the counter where her mortar and pestle were. She took some Queen Anne's Lace from where a bouquet hung from the shelf and as she crushed the flower, she saw Daryl starting a fire in their stove and then placing a cup of water on top of it to boil.

"Teamwork," she smiled at him and he smirked.

"Jus' wanna get laid," he said and she laughed, it ringing out, and he smiled at her.

Once the water was boiling, Beth dropped the crushed flower into it and held the cup carefully, blowing on it so she didn't burn her tongue. And as she drank, Daryl turned her towards him and he began undoing her belt and jeans for her.

She drank a little faster.

The rain was pounding down now in sheets as Beth all but dropped the empty cup onto the floor and pushed Daryl towards the bed. He gave her one of those rare full-fledged grins of his as she climbed on after him. Together, they undid his jeans, their fingers tangling together and Beth began laughing at how silly and eager they were acting. She leaned down and pressed her lips to his, her mouth still curved into a smile. Daryl's fingers were quick to unclasp her bra and push her jeans and underwear down past her hips. She gasped as he suddenly rolled her over and she smiled up at him as he pushed himself up on his knees to pull her jeans and underwear down the rest of the way, leaving her lying completely naked on the bed.

Daryl looked at her for a moment and it didn't matter how many times this man had seen her while naked. Beth still felt her cheeks warm.

He slowly pushed off his jeans and the briefs he wore underneath and then he made sure to pull off his socks, too, and Beth pursed her lips together to keep from giggling. She had said more than once that she hated when he kept his socks on and Daryl was sure to always remember it.

He smirked a little down at her when he saw her eyes dancing and laughing and he lowered himself on top of her. Their kisses were slower now, as if taking the rare time they had to reacquaint themselves with one another. With Eli across the room from them, they were never slow. It was always as quick as possible and as quiet. But now, Daryl kissed her so slowly and thoroughly, his tongue exploring seemingly every inch of her mouth, Beth let out a moan and she could feel the slight twitch of his lips as if he wanted to smile, but didn't want to stop kissing her to do so.

His lips weren't the only part of him moving. He touched her everywhere he could, his rough hands running all over her body, making her shiver even though she swore she was already sweating in anticipation.

And by the time Daryl gently pushed her thighs apart and hitched one up along his hip, Beth was nearly shaking. She was aching and soaked and almost sobbing with her want for him to be inside of her. Her hands dropped down to his hips and squeezed and Daryl fused his mouth to hers once again as he pushed in. He didn't go slow and ease himself in. He pushed steady and Beth gasped at being so full of him.

"Oh my god," she broke her mouth away, panting, squeezing around him. It was as if, every time, her body forgot just how full he could make her feel until he was inside of her again.

And as she did that, Daryl dropped his face to the crook of her neck.

"Jesus, Beth," he groaned against her skin and Beth squeezed around him again.

"Move your ass, Dixon," she said, making him smirk.

"Yes ma'm."

He lifted his head and looked at her, locking his eyes with her as he did what she said and began moving his ass. And his hips – pulling out slowly and thrusting back in. He didn't look anywhere except in her eyes and Beth couldn't look away from him. She lifted her hands and held the hair back from his face and she moaned his name every few seconds, her back arching and her hips lifting to meet his.

Beth came with a cry that was lost to the rain pounding outside and Daryl thrusted a few more times before he followed after her, emptying himself deep inside of her. He didn't want to collapse on top of her, but Beth didn't care and gave him little choice when she wrapped her arms around him and kept him on top of her. She loved the feel of Daryl's body – warm and heavy – pressing her into the bed.

Daryl panted against her neck, his nose buried in her hair, trying to catch his breath. He loved his son more than anything in this world, but Daryl admitted that it was nice to have the house to just him and Beth tonight so they could do this.

Beth laid there, her hands running lightly up and down his back, and listening to the rain drops hit the glass of the window behind their bed.

"Your bike," Beth said suddenly.

"Wha'?" Daryl asked, lifting his head to look down to her face.

"Your bike. Do you think it's still there?" She asked.

"Even if it is, wha' am I gonna do with it?" He asked and slid off of her just enough to lay on his side, facing her, his arm across her stomach. She turned her head on the pillow to keep looking at him. "Gas isn' good anymore and the thing was always too loud anyway."

"You always looked so damn sexy on that bike. Coming up the farm's drive. All dirty and dangerous. And sexy," Beth teased him.

Daryl snorted at that. "Were you even old enough to think a guy was sexy when you firs' saw me?" He teased back.

Beth rolled her eyes and reached out, pinching his side, and for the second time that evening, Daryl gave her a grin. He leaned down and kissed her, his hand lingering on the side of her face, and he pulled back enough to look into her eyes.

"I'll look and see if it's still there, but I think 's pretty stupid to bring it back," he said.

"It's not stupid. It's your bike."

Daryl just shook his head a little, but didn't say anything else about it. "When we get to the prison and if we find that there's stuff still there, is there anythin' you want?"

Beth took the moment to think it over and she then smiled fondly. "In my cell, there was a garden gnome statue. Glenn had gotten it on a run and had given it to me and he was so happy and just thought it was so hilarious. I would love to have it again."

"You got it," Daryl immediately agreed.

"I was so hurt and angry," Beth said quietly. "When you and me found those signs Maggie had left for Glenn along the tracks and hadn't made any for me. But now… now that I have you, I get it. If anything happened here and we had to run and you and me got separated, I would do anything to find you again."

Daryl didn't say anything to that; mainly because he didn't know what to say; mainly because he knew exactly what she was talking about. So he stayed quiet and leaned down and kissed her again.

"Mama!" Suddenly, they heard Eli on the ladder, banging on the locked door. "Bee punched me in the eye!"

…

* * *

 **Thank you so much for reading and please take a moment to leave a review!**


	23. Letter

**A much shorter chapter than what I usually write for this story, but seeing them together in last night's episode inspired me with this chapter. The next update will see Daryl, Beth and the others heading back to the prison. I have something planned and have had it planned for a while and I'm both nervous and excited for it.**

* * *

…

 **Chapter Twenty-three.** Letter.

"Son of a bitch," Rosita swore harshly as quietly as she could.

But Eli was standing on a stool at her side and he had his daddy's hearing and he, of course, heard her. He leaned in to her. "You said a bad word," he whispered to her.

Rosita nodded and then leaned in close to him. "Don't tell your mom and dad," she whispered back and Eli answered with a smile.

Beth had been able to do most of the cooking preparations before they all left, but time had run out and now, it was Rosita's responsibility to make the mulberry jam. And at first, she hadn't worried. How hard could it be to make jam? She used to help her mom in the kitchen all the time. She admitted that she was a bit rusty now, having gone years without keeping her skills sharpened, and it was known by the family that the kitchen really was Beth's domain; a domain she had more than well-earned.

"It's burning again," Eli pointed out to her.

"Shit," Rosita hissed and she lifted the pot from the stove, turning and putting it on the table. Mash berries, heat berries, stir sugar in and let cool. Seriously. What was so hard about this?

Beth had been able to bake two loaves of honey bread for them before she left and when the kids found out about the possibility mulberry jam, they had wanted bread and jam for lunch. Easy enough. Or at least she had thought.

"The flames were too hot," Anna said as she sat on the other side of the table, Beth's journal open in front of her – the journal with pages filled of food recipes and medicine ingredients. She had even taped leaves and dried flowers to the pages as reference points. She had worked on it for years and was still adding to it and that journal was probably one of their most prized possessions. Anna was in charge of it while Beth was gone and she now read the recipe for mulberry jam. "Beth said to let the berries heat and stir the sugar in quickly, not leaving the pot on for too long."

Rosita let out a heavy sigh. "So, I've ruined it," she then said, looking down to the berries in the pot, stuck to the sides and bottom.

Anna stood up. "I doubt it. Let me take a look."

Rosita gratefully pushed the pot and wooden spoon towards her. "If you can salvage it, I will love you forever."

Anna gave her a smile. "You didn't already?" She teased and Rosita smiled, too.

"I'm going to start stripping the beds and then once we eat lunch, we'll all head to the creek and start washing," Rosita said. She looked to Eli. "Do you think you and Aiden can manage getting the blankets and sheets from the beds in your tree?"

Eli grinned. "Yep!" He exclaimed and then jumped down from the chair he was standing on and ran out the backdoor to where Rosita had assigned Aiden and Bee to the garden that morning, pulling weeds, and it didn't matter how little or young Bee was. They had to teach her and there were always weeds to be pulled.

Rosita walked past Anna, stopping to give the girl a kiss on the head before going into hers and Spencer's bedroom.

The group had left the morning before. Beth and Daryl were going because they knew the prison and their way around and the other adults put their names in the basket to see who would be staying with the kids. Rosita felt relief that she would be able to stay with her two children and Anna and Eli, but at the same time, her heart clenched when she thought of Spencer being away for a week. Maybe even more.

Before he left the morning before, he had handed her three folded pieces of paper.

"You can read mine after I leave, but Aiden and Bee have their own letters," Spencer told her. "If I don't come back… don't give them theirs until they're a little older or whenever you think they should have them."

Rosita rarely cried. Even before the end of the world, she had just never been the sort to weep openly with her emotions and with everything that had happened since the dead started walking, she had toughened even more so and had made herself as thick as stone.

She cried when Aiden was born and again, when Bee was and as well as when Eli was born and she had helped deliver him, but other than those times, she couldn't think of another moment when tears fell down her cheeks.

But that morning, standing in their bedroom, Rosita felt the tears burning her eyes and Spencer stepped in, his hands on her cheeks and his lips to her forehead. She wrapped her arms around his middle and didn't want to let him go. This man was the father of her children; her husband in every sense of the word and she hated that he was leaving the mountain – going so far away and being gone for so long – without her.

"Hey. Don't do that," Spencer murmured into her hair. "There's only room for one tough person in this relationship and we both know that it isn't me."

And even though she was crying, he got a laugh out of her, too.

Rosita had already read the letter three times. Yesterday afternoon, last night before going to bed and again this morning before pulling herself from the bed that seemed so much larger now that Spencer wasn't beside her. She had called him a blanket hog more than one time in all of the years they had been sharing a bed together.

She woke up with plenty of blankets still covering her, but she woke up with an ache in her chest that made her immediately reach for the letter that was on the pillow beside her and she read his words as the sun began creeping above the horizon.

And now, with Anna in the kitchen trying to save the mulberry jam, and hearing the soft laughter of Eli, Aiden and Bee from outside, Rosita took the letter with her name written on the front and closed the bedroom door and sat down on the bed.

 _I'm always grateful that the world ended because despite everything that has happened and everyone that we have lost, in the middle of it all, I still managed to find you and I know that if the world had stayed normal, I never would have had a shot with you. I know you're only with me because of lack of options –_

It was something they joked about often with one another.

"I love you," he'd whisper to her late at night when they should have been sleeping.

"I love you, too," she'd whisper back without hesitation.

And he would smile, his lips curving against the shell of her ear. "Lack of options," he told her and it would make her laugh every single time.

 _-but I honestly believe that the world ended so we could find each other and be together. I don't know what is going to happen to any of us, but if something does happen and I don't come back to you and our children, just know, Rosita Espinosa-Monroe, that you're the best thing to ever happen to me._

 _Love Spencer_

And just as it had the previous three times she had read it, Rosita felt tears sting her eyes and she sniffled as she folded the letter carefully and returned it to the draw of the nightstand where she had placed Spencer's letters to Aiden and Bee.

"Rosita?" She heard Anna knock softly on the door, saying her name quietly from the other side.

Rosita quickly wiped her cheeks. "I'll be right there, Anna," she said and she knew the girl could hear the quiver in her voice because Rosita heard it with her own ears.

She stood up and turned, beginning to strip the bed for laundry day, and she hadn't done it in so long, but she closed her eyes and prayed to God that Spencer – that all of her family – would come back home.

…

* * *

 **Thank you very much for reading! I know no Beth/Daryl, but please take a moment to review.**


	24. Prison

**I can't explain how much I love writing this story even though writing this chapter had me crying like a baby.**

* * *

…

 **Chapter Twenty-four.** Prison.

It had been twelve years. At least that was how long she had thought it had been. They did their best to keep track of time, but sometimes, it still go away from them. All Beth knew was that it had been years and she was looking at the prison again. Never had she thought that she would ever see it again.

Daryl had taken them the longer way, bringing them up to the back of the prison rather than approaching the front. With the fence knocked over by the tank and with how many walkers had been drawn to the noise and explosion, he wasn't sure how many walkers were still around and he wanted to be safe rather than sorry.

Beth now stood at the fence, her fingers curled around the chain-link, looking up at the formidable, familiar buildings in front of her. She wondered if anything was left inside. So many years had passed and surely someone else had come around here, scavenging for anything for themselves. She turned her head when she felt Daryl come stand beside her. He looked through the fence for a moment and then looked at her. His face was blank, but she knew that he could read hers easily. And even though it looked as if he wasn't thinking anything, Beth could read him just as well.

She reached out and squeezed his forearm. He was worried that coming here was a mistake and a waste of time, but they would never know that if they didn't go inside.

Daryl turned to look at the others. Without a word, Aaron took the bolt cutters from his pack and handed them to him. Daryl swung his crossbow strap onto his shoulder and then, as Spencer, Mulligan and Aaron kept lookout for any walkers coming through the trees, Daryl cut the chain that was still looped through the gates and Beth pulled the chain free and pushed the gates open slowly. She winced as the rusted hinges let out a squeal that sounded far too sharp and loud to her ears.

She stepped back and let Daryl enter the back courtyard first, crossbow in his hands, raised and aimed and ready. The others entered after him, Mulligan staying outside with Blackie and the wagon, staying there until he was given the all-clear signal.

Daryl was slammed with the strongest sense of Déjà vu as he crept through the courtyard, with Beth, Aaron and Spencer. For a moment, they were replaced with Rick, Glenn, Maggie and T-Dog and he felt a dryness in his throat because he and Rick had been the only ones who had made it. He hoped they were able to go through the prison quickly and get back to their mountain as soon as they could.

He fired his crossbow into a walker stumbling around the corner and he heard Spencer and Aaron sink their knives into the soft skulls of two more. From the corner of his eye, he saw Beth kick a walker so it stumbled and fell and she was able to stab her knife into it easily, killing it once and for all.

Walkers had stumbled in and out over the years and by the time the back courtyard was closed and they were able to close the gate that led towards the front of the prison, there were at least fifteen dead walkers strewn around on the ground.

Daryl let out a whistle and Mulligan led Blackie and the wagon into the courtyard, Aaron jogging past to close the gate behind them.

"What do you think?" Beth asked as they caught their breath. There was water in the back of the wagon and they stood in a circle, drinking from the bottles.

Daryl was looking around. "Looks secure enough back here. The damage was done to the front anyway," he said and Beth nodded in agreement.

"So, what's the plan?" Spencer asked.

"Door to the kitchen is right there," Daryl said, and then pointed to a door up a couple of steps while taking a guzzle of water. "We'll start in there and then from there, we'll head to the cell blocks." He looked to Mulligan. "You stay out here and keep watch?" He suggested.

"Sounds good," Mulligan agreed. "I'm not trustin' any of you with my horse," he then joked while rubbing Blackie's neck.

The horse was old and it had been a long journey and he was greedily drinking from a bucket of water Mulligan had poured for him. Daryl knew that this was probably the last journey Blackie would ever make. Hell, if it was up to Daryl, this would be the last journey _any_ of them would ever make.

Once they finished with water, the other four all made sure they were armed and ready and Daryl led the way up the steps to the door. Beth slipped past him and her fingers curled around the door knob. She looked to Daryl and he gave her a nod. She gave him a nod in return and pulled the door open. It hadn't been locked _that day_ and it hadn't been locked in the years since.

It was dusty, musty and dirty as Daryl swept inside, Aaron and Spencer behind them and Beth bringing up the rear. It was dim except for the light that was able to push through the dirt that covered the windows and his sharp eyes told him that they were alone – for the time being.

"Pantry's back here," Beth spoke quietly to Aaron and Spencer and they followed her as Daryl kept watch.

He tuned out the soft noise the three made and focused on everything else; trying to detect that familiar shuffling and growling. Being back here gave him a stone in his gut. God, that day had to be one of the worst days of his entire life. Hershel and losing this place and running off with only Beth and not knowing – for years – what happened to everyone else. His fingers loosened to keep from stiffening and then he tightened them once more around the bow.

Hearing something drop onto the counter behind him, he turned his head enough to see that it was Aaron, putting a couple of bags down.

"Flour's still here," Aaron said and allowed himself a little smile and Daryl felt like maybe he'd be able to return it.

"Someone's been here," Beth said, coming out with her own bags of flour. "They took all of the cans, but nothing else."

Daryl shrugged. "We didn't want the cans anyway," he reminded her.

"I just hope there's still something in the cells for us," she said and looked as Spencer came and dropped a heavy sack of sugar onto the counter. "Start carrying this out to Mulligan?" She suggested to Aaron and he nodded, picking the bags of flour up to take outside as Spencer went back into the pantry. She followed after him and Daryl went back to standing guard at the kitchen's entry that looked out into the cafeteria.

"Want to take all of this?" Spencer asked and Beth turned to see what he was asking about and when she saw, she nodded immediately. "I figured," he smiled and swept the different spice containers in his arms. "Thank God for you and Daryl. I was shitty at scavenging before I met you. Much like whoever got here before us."

"I just don't know why they would go for expired cans of mandarin oranges when there is a container of cocoa right here," Beth said, picking it up from the shelf.

"People aren't like you, Beth. They don't know what to do with it," Spencer said and Beth felt her cheeks warm a bit as she followed Spencer out of the pantry.

She knew it was silly, but she still got so shy and so _proud_ when one of her family complimented her and what she was able to do.

"Daryl," she said and he instantly turned his head. "The cocoa's still here, too." She couldn't stop her smile and Daryl smiled, too, when he saw it. "I can make the kids chocolate milk again." Their cocoa supply had run out a few years ago and it was something that had definitely been missed by all.

"Don't know 'bout that. You made Anna an addict and her withdraw wasn' pleasant," Daryl joked a little and Beth laughed softly.

They were able to empty out the rest of the kitchen and carried it outside, loading it into the wagon.

"Not bad," Mulligan commented as he saw the bags of flour, sugar, cocoa and spices.

"Not bad, old man?" Spencer smirked. "You don't get a cup of chocolate milk then."

Mulligan swiped at his head and Spencer ducked, laughing as Mulligan missed him and jogged back up the steps into the kitchen. Mulligan grumbled something under his breath and Daryl smirked, swinging his crossbow back into his arms after putting down the crate of kitchen utensils Beth wanted to take back with them.

"If you wan', I can accidentally shoot 'im in the ass with a bolt," Daryl offered.

"You're always offerin' to do that and you've never actually done it," Mulligan frowned at him. "I think you're just empty promises, boy."

Daryl couldn't help but chuckle and with a shake of his head, he went back inside.

They left the kitchen, with Daryl leading the way and the others behind him, all walking silently, Aaron shining the solar-powered flashlight over Daryl's shoulder. It didn't matter how many years it had been. He could get to C-Block with his eyes closed.

He fired immediately as the walker shuffled around the corner and the bolt sank right into its eye. Beth pulled the bolt back out as they passed, none stopping. Other than that one walker who had stumbled in, everywhere else seemed pretty quiet.

He heard Beth's breath catch in her throat as they came upon C-Block for the first time in years. It was all still here. Nothing had changed in so many years except it was now all coated in a thick layer of dust.

"Beth."

He tried to get her to stop, but either she was ignoring him or hadn't really heard him, as she walked right past him and headed towards her old cell. He watched her go and then turned towards Spencer and Aaron.

"Go through all of the cells except that one-" he pointed to the one at the very end, the opposite side of where Beth's cell was. "-and that one," he pointed to the one at the top of the stairs. "Those were Maggie and Glenn's and Beth's dad's cells and I wanna let her go through 'em herself."

"You got it," Aaron nodded. "Which one was yours?"

Daryl looked up to his cell on the second level. "Don't matter. Nothin' in there that's gonna make me wanna see it 'fore you."

Spencer and Aaron nodded once more and as Aaron took the stairs, heading towards the cells up there, Spencer went into the cell across from him. Carl's cell. Daryl instantly thought of his supply of comic books. The kids would love them. Eli, Aiden and Bee had never see one and he didn't know if Anna had either.

He headed towards Beth's cell and when he came into the door-frame, he saw her holding the garden gnome to her chest, sitting on the bed and tears rolling down her cheeks. She didn't make a sound. She cried silently and Daryl sat down next to her. He didn't say anything. He didn't know if anything could be said. It was overwhelming to be here again. He got that. He was a little overwhelmed himself.

He put his arm around her waist and she leaned into him, her head on his chest and his chin brushing across her head.

"Do you think you and me would have fallen in love like we did if we hadn't lost this place?" She asked him quietly.

"Don't know," Daryl answered with a shrug. "Prob'ly."

She laughed softly at that. "You don't think that at all."

Daryl smirked a little and tightened his arm around her and kissed the top of her head. Beth lifted her face and kissed his jaw.

"We could have had fun though," she smiled. "You sneaking into my cell at night without anyone seeing or figuring it out."

Daryl snorted at that and Beth giggled.

Between the four of them, they were able to clear out the cells somewhat quickly. Comic books from Carl. A stash of chocolate bars from Michonne. Hershel's bible. Glenn's guitar and a couple of pictures he had taken with a camera he had had: one of him and Maggie and another someone – Beth was pretty sure it was Carol – had taken of Glenn, Maggie, Beth and Hershel all together. "A family picture," Glenn had said with that boyish grin of his.

In Daryl's cell, there were a couple of knives he had completely forgotten about and a few more bolts. In Rick's cell, they took the man's farming books though they probably didn't need them. They also were sure to take the blankets and any clothes that they could find that weren't completely worn or home to mice nests.

"Mulligan, look," Beth said as they came out to load their finds into the wagon. She came to show the man the photographs. "That's my daddy," she said proudly.

"Look at that," Mulligan smiled, taking the picture from her to get a closer look. "Me and 'im look alike. No wonder you like me," he teased and she laughed. "The garden you was tellin' me 'bout? It's there?" He asked, nodding his head towards the front courtyard that they hadn't cleared and a couple of walkers snarled at the gate that separated the front and back courtyards.

"Yes, but I've been thinking and we don't need it. Me and the kids had planted a herb garden, but we have herbs at home," Beth told him.

Mulligan didn't say anything to that. He just kept looking towards the other courtyard and Beth hoped he didn't try and do something stupid.

Heading back inside, they went to D-Block and this time, they only went for clothes. They had enough blankets and Daryl and Beth were always conscious about leaving things behind for someone else to take them. They had blankets and pillows at home and they had more loaded into the wagon. They didn't need to take anymore. What they needed were clothes – especially kids' clothes – and they all went through every cell and took everything they found.

When Spencer found shoes that looked like they could fit Bee, he smiled and squeezed them in his hands. In Karen's cell, Beth found a box of spare Band-Aids and she had no idea how Karen had gotten these, but Beth didn't hesitate in taking them. She knew they could go to the medical room, but Beth felt as if maybe they were already pressing their luck, being here that long and besides, all of the medicine there would be more than long-ago expired and Beth was able to do more for her family when they got sick with her flower petals and teas.

"Not bad," Daryl murmured to her as they went outside again to load the wagon once again. Beth just smiled at him and he smiled a little, too. He knew it was an understatement. He had wanted to come back here on a hunch in his gut and it had been proven right. They had gotten everything they had needed – and more.

Now, it was time to go home.

"Mulligan!" Aaron suddenly shouted and Daryl and Beth's heads instantly whipped to see that Mulligan had left the wagon and he was now in the front courtyard. There were a couple of walkers dead on the ground and the gate was open.

Daryl gently pushed Beth towards Blackie. "Stay," he ordered her as the others dropped the things in their arms and went running after the man as he was at the herb garden, looking over the boxes overgrown with greenery.

Mulligan smiled as he leaned in a little closer to one of the plants growing. "Well, I'll be," he said and then looked at Daryl, Spencer and Aaron as they got closer. "Wild strawberries are growin' here."

"We don't need 'em," Daryl growled, looking over the open courtyard. More walkers were at the front of the prison than had been at the back. He could see them stumbling along the drive and in the yard.

He fired a bolt at one who was getting too close.

"Imagine what Beth could make with strawberries," the man practically smacked his lips together as he reached in and began digging the plant out from the dirt.

Daryl heard a shriek and he instantly turned to see that a walker had stumbled upon Beth and had taken her by surprise, she struggling to get free as the walker snapped in her ear, trying to take a bite. Daryl took off running. He hadn't loaded his crossbow again and Beth was trying to bend her arm back to get her knife in its head. The walker had her at an awkward angle though and even as a rotting corpse, it was strong and hungry. Daryl surged forward with his knife and plunged it into the walker's skull, the walker's grip immediately releasing Beth and she stumbled into Daryl's chest, breathing heavily.

"Thank you," she breathed and Daryl wrapped her in his arms, hugging her tightly, his own heart feeling as if it was trying to break through his ribcage.

With his arms not releasing her, he turned and shouted over her head. "We're leavin'!" The walkers in the yard were becoming aware of them and Daryl wanted to get them all out of there – especially Beth and Blackie. The horse, as if it could read Daryl's thoughts, let out a nervous _neigh_.

Spencer and Aaron didn't put up a protest – both as eager to leave as Daryl – and Aaron took Mulligan's arm, gently tugging on the man to come with them, too.

If anyone ever asked them later what had happened, none would be able to tell a coherent story. All any of them could agree on was one moment, Mulligan had been walking with Aaron and Spencer, but then had turned back when another wild strawberry plant growing in another box had gotten his attention.

The walker seemed to appear from nowhere behind Mulligan and before Aaron could stab it, it bit into Mulligan's neck and he let out a curdling yell as Aaron yanked the walker back and stabbed it. But it was too late.

Mulligan dropped to his knees and Spencer was there, kneeling next to him. He had taken off his shirt and was pressing it to the wound that was gushing blood even though it wouldn't help. Nothing would help. Daryl and Beth came running and Beth dropped hard to the ground on her knees – pain shocking through her body – but she didn't even notice it as she gently pushed Spencer's hands back so she could look at the wound herself. Tears instantly sprung up in her eyes as she looked.

"Well," Mulligan sighed.

He looked at Beth and then to Spencer before lifting his eyes to Daryl and Aaron. They all were silent, in shock, and tears streamed down Beth's eyes before she took the shirt herself and began pressing it to his throat.

"I guess that's that," he said.

"No," Aaron shook his head. "No, it's not. We can… there's something-"

"Aaron," Mulligan cut him off.

Daryl clenched his eyes and jaw shut. Mulligan never left the mountain. It was the reason he had made it this long. And the first time he came down, it was because of Daryl's idea and now, this man was going to die. Because of Daryl.

"Aaron, can you get me some water?" Beth asked.

"No," Mulligan's answer was forceful. "You ain't wastin' water on me."

He was trying to keep his eyes open, but already the blood loss was too much and he was growing pale. They helped him lie down on the cement ground. There wouldn't even be time to get him inside to one of the beds.

"Beth, you take those strawberries. Make somethin' great with 'em," he said, his eyes closed and not opening again even though he kept on breathing.

"I will," Beth nodded as she pressed the shirt to his neck with tears streaming down her face.

"And tell Anna that she's in charge of the animals now," Mulligan said. "And tell her she knows what she's doin' 'cause she'll argue with you 'bout it."

"We'll tell her," Spencer said in a soft voice.

"Daryl."

Daryl's eyes snapped open and Spencer shuffled aside so Daryl could kneel beside the man. Mulligan forced his eyes open so he could look up at him. He held up one of his bloodied hands and Daryl didn't hesitate in taking it, holding it tightly.

"The son I never had," he whispered and Daryl did his best to swallow the lump lodged in his throat that was making breathing damn-near impossible and he felt his own tears building. "You take care of my mountain for me. 's your mountain now."

And with them all kneeling around him, Mulligan's eyes closed and didn't open again and Beth cried as she pressed a kiss to his forehead.

…

When they climbed back up their mountain and got back home, with Mulligan's body wrapped in a sheet in the back of the wagon, when Anna found out, she fell to her knees and burst into tears, letting out an anguished yell that echoed throughout the woods and across the mountain. Aaron kneeled beside her and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her as she sobbed.

And when the other kids realized what had happened, they all began crying, too.

Daryl and Spencer dug the hole behind the barn as Rosita and Beth gathered the kids inside, trying to calm them all down. Anna took Blackie into the barn and wept against the horse's neck as she brushed him down and Aaron didn't leave her side.

When the hole was dug, Daryl took wood planks and tied them together, making a cross before sticking it at the head of the hole. And then with Spencer and Aaron helping, Daryl lowered Mulligan's wrapped body into the hole before they all began shoveling the dirt back in.

The family stood around the hole in silence, lost to their own thoughts. Rosita wrapped her arm tightly around Spencer's waist and her other around Aiden's shoulders as Spencer held Bee in his arms. Aaron held onto Anna, who still was unable to stop crying, and Beth held Eli tightly in her arms even though he was probably too old and too big to be held like this. Eli wasn't trying to be put down though and instead, he wrapped his arms tight around her neck as Daryl finished shoveling in the last of the dirt.

Beth began singing softly – a song that she knew that Mulligan had loved and a song that others in his family had sung before in their own lives, living up here.

"I'm just a poor wayfarin' stranger,  
While travelin' through this world below.  
Yet there's no sickness, no toil, nor danger,  
In that bright land to which I go.  
I'm goin' there to see my Father.  
And all my loved ones who've gone on.  
I'm just goin' over Jordan.  
I'm just goin' over home."

They were silent for a passing minute. Even the crying had seemed to quiet down.

Daryl stood there, his arms resting on the shovel as he stared down at the grave. After that storm, they never would have made it if it wasn't for this man. He had saved them all and Daryl had repaid him by getting him killed.

Beth stepped closer to him and Daryl let out a breath he was holding and put his arm around her shoulders, holding both Beth and Eli close to him. He then lifted his eyes and looked at the rest of his family.

"We ain't never leavin' this mountain again."

…

* * *

 **Thank you very much for reading and please review. I can't decide if the next chapter should be the last or if I should keep writing. I love writing this story in a way that I don't have with others.  
**


	25. Snow

**A lot is crammed into this chapter. But I love it and I hope you do, too! As always with this story, this chapter flew out of me.**

* * *

…

 **Chapter Twenty-five.** Snow. **  
**

Every morning, Eli woke up and one of the first things he saw was a garden gnome that his mama had brought back for him. She said that his Uncle Glenn, who he had never met but who would have adored him – both of his parents said – first gave it to her and now, she was giving it to him. And daddy had placed it on the windowsill next to Eli's bed so it watched over him as he slept.

The room was gray and he knew that it was morning. He could hear mama and daddy moving quietly around the house and the stove had been fed more wood, notching the room's temperature up to toasty. Eli sat up and turned towards the window behind his bed, sitting up on his knees. The night before at dinner, daddy had said that it smelled like snow in the air and as he always was, he had been right and during the night as they slept, a blanket of snow had fallen and it was still falling, covering the ground and adding inches.

Mulligan had said it was going to be a bad winter.

His window faced out over the garden and the rest of the large fenced in yard. The snow was smooth and undisturbed except one single path had already been shoveled from the cabin's back door to the barn, which let Eli know that Anna was already awake and had seen to the animals. She was probably still out there. She refused anyone else to help her and nearly barred them all from the barn. Mama said that Anna was grieving over Mulligan and they just had to give her time.

Eli pulled himself out of his bed and first went to the side of the tree-house where they had a curtain hanging from the ceiling and it closed around a metal tub where they bathed themselves in the winter; a long process of heating the water on the stove and carrying the pails to the tub, but some baths were better than none. Also, there was a bucket to pee in, which Eli did now.

He heard the soft murmur of his parents as he left the bucket and hurried around the tree house, coming upon both parents – Beth at the stove and Daryl sitting at the table that he had built into a nook.

"Good morning, sweetie," Beth smiled at him and bent down, kissing him on the head. "Anna brought us eggs and milk. Are you hungry for breakfast?" She asked.

"Yep!" He replied eagerly and went to stand in front of the stove in an effort to get himself a bit more warm now that he was away from the thick quilts covering his bed. He looked to Daryl as Daryl ate his own breakfast. "How much snow we get?"

Daryl waited until he finished chewing his mouthful of eggs. "Figure about eight inches and 's still fallin'. Might get a foot before the day is done." He paused to sip his milk and then looked to Beth. "Gonna have to get up on the roof and shovel it off. Don't want that much snow pilin' up there."

"I'll help!" Eli volunteered.

"Nope. You have to help me in here today," Beth immediately denied him and Eli frowned. She _never_ let him crawl onto the roof.

"Doing what?" Eli asked, looking up at her suspiciously.

"If your mama needs your help, you're gonna help her," Daryl said.

Eli went to sit down on the bench seat across from Daryl and Beth came, setting a plate of two fried eggs and a slice of mulberry and pepper bread down in front of him. A moment later, she then returned with a cup of chocolate milk. A big breakfast to carry him through until they ate dinner that evening.

Eli tilted his head up towards her and gave her a grin. "Thank you, mama."

Beth smiled and kissed him on the head before sitting down beside him, eating her own bread and drinking her own milk. He slid over to give her more room, sitting closer to the window and as he ate, he looked out, watching the falling snow and listening to the murmur of his parents' voices as they talked with one another. Through the bare trees, a little bit away, he saw a walker not moving. Just standing there. The walkers never seemed to move in the winter and if they did, they did very slowly. His daddy said that when he taught him how to take down walkers, his lessons would begin in the winter so the walkers were easier to handle.

"How come you never let me go up on the roof and help with the snow?" Eli then asked suddenly, turning his head to look back to his parents.

"Cause you're five," Daryl answered him and pushed his plate with the one remaining egg towards Beth. She hadn't made any for herself that morning, just wanting some of the bread, but Daryl didn't like the idea of her just eating bread. "And you still fall over when you're runnin' away too fast from Aiden. I'm gonna wanna wait until you're at least another year older."

Eli frowned. "I don't fall over."

Daryl smirked at that around the rim of his cup. "Yeah, you do. Like a drunk," he teased and Beth smiled as she ate the egg, scooping the yolk with the bit of bread.

"I have to give you a haircut today," Beth informed Eli, reaching a hand out and brushing some of his longish dark brown hair back from his forehead.

Eli frowned. "Do you gotta?" He asked.

"Yes, I _have to_ ," she corrected him. "And then, we're going to have your lessons and then, you're going to help me make us some dinner tonight."

Eli didn't argue. Although he would much rather go up on the roof and help daddy shovel, he knew that there was no way that was going to happen. Not today and not when his mama had already said he had lessons.

"Why is Anna so sad?" He then asked, abruptly changing the subject in that way that only little kids could seem to do because they didn't know yet what tact was.

Daryl was quiet and stared down at the table, suddenly finding it to be the most fascinating thing he had ever seen, and Beth gave Eli a small, gentle smile, reaching out and brushing his hair back again.

He admitted that he didn't get death. He had never known someone who had died before. All he knew was that Mulligan went down the mountain and he didn't come back up and Eli felt frustration because he just _didn't_ get it. His body was there, but there wasn't anything else to it. Where did he go? His mama told him about heaven and she told him all about God and read from the Bible and Eli liked the stories. He just didn't get it.

"She misses Mulligan," Beth told him and it wasn't the first time she had. "When we got here, before you were born, we were all tired and a little scared and we didn't know what was going to happen. But Mulligan opened his home up to us and took us in and didn't want us to leave. And Anna was young and Mulligan wanted to help her not be scared anymore. He showed her how to take care of the animals and it became the thing they shared." Beth paused and Eli saw her swallow. "She misses him so much and is feeling a little lost without him in the barn with her."

"But you said that we'll all see Mulligan again someday," Eli pointed out to her.

Beth smiled faintly at that and put her arm around his shoulders, pulling him tightly and securely into her warm side. "And we will. But even knowing that doesn't always help the pain go away."

"'s important, Eli, that you learn everything me and your mama teach you," Daryl finally spoke up, his voice a little rough and he paused to clear it. "Mulligan taught Anna how to take care of the animals. She knows how to help 'em give birth and how to milk 'em and she knows how to shear the sheep so we can spin their wool for Rosita. 's all really important stuff."

Eli listened and nodded. He was always jealous of how much Anna knew and could do with the animals.

"And when I teach you 'bout huntin' and your mama teaches you 'bout plants, 's important you remember all of it," Daryl said, looking at his son with a serious look.

Eli nodded again. "I'll remember."

Daryl seemed to want to say something else and he exhaled a soft sigh. "This is how you and you kids survive, Eli. Your mama and me, and Aaron, and Spencer and Rosita, we're not gonna be around forever."

"Where are you going to be?" Eli frowned as he asked the question.

Daryl looked to Beth for help and Beth squeezed her arm around Eli's shoulders.

"Someday, we're going to die, too, and you kids will have to carry this place on," she said as gently as she could and she hated when Eli's eyes started to glisten. "Not today," she then added and put her lips to his hair, resting them there. "Not today," she repeated in a whisper against his head.

She lifted her eyes and looked to Daryl and he looked at her. It wasn't a conversation that neither had really wanted to have, but it was one they couldn't _not_ have with him. It was something kids had to learn early on in this life. This world was not a kind one and as much as Beth wished Eli could have the childhood she had, making Rice Krispie treats in the kitchen and running barefoot through the fields without a care in the world, she knew that that would never happen. Kids had to be strong and brave and tough. They all had to be, or else, they wouldn't survive.

Anna had told them once, when she was younger than she was now, that she had read about the Pilgrims in a history book they had gotten her and they reminded her of what they were. Doing and making everything they had by their own hands – just like the Pilgrims did when they came here to start completely over.

Pilgrims were probably scared when they got over here and looked at this strange new world, but – as Anna pointed out to them – Pilgrims were tough. They had laughed at that, but they had all agreed. They were Pilgrims and Pilgrims were brave and tough. Maybe in honor of the Pilgrims, Daryl would be able to hunt them down a wild turkey. Beth wished – not for the first time – she knew what day it was.

Eli let out a sniffle and then he lifted his eyes, looking back and forth between his parents. "I wanna help daddy on the roof with the snow," he then said, in the best firm tone he could muster.

Daryl and Beth looked at him and then looked at one another – having a conversation and just speaking with their eyes as they have done countless times before. Daryl, sometimes, would try to remember how they had gotten so good at doing this with one another. It was obviously after the prison and when they had been on their own – just the two of them – for so long, but Daryl could never remember the first time they had ever attempted it and had succeeded.

Together, silently, they came to a decision.

Beth squeezed her arms around Eli's shoulders. "You wear as many layers as you can," she told him. "I'll put your mittens and scarf near the stove until you put them on so they're toasty warm for you."

Eli smiled at that.

"You get enough to eat?" Daryl asked him.

"Yep!" He asked, his excitement already growing at just the idea of being able to help his daddy shovel snow off the roof.

"Go and get dressed then," Daryl said and Eli practically climbed over Beth to leave the table and run back towards his bed on the other side of the tree house.

Beth and Daryl continued sitting and looking at one another. Without a word, he stood up and Beth slid over on the bench seat to make room for him as he sat down next to her. One of his arms went around her shoulders and the other hand went to rest on her flat stomach.

"You feelin' a'right?" He asked her quietly.

She gave him a smile and a nod and covered his hand with hers. "With Eli, I felt like throwing up all of the time, but it usually just hit me in the afternoon. This time… there's nothing. But I don't want to get too comfortable. I read morning sickness can happen in the second or even the third trimester."

Daryl didn't say anything to that. He just looked down at their hands.

"You think we're idiots?" She asked him in a much softer tone.

Daryl smirked a little, lifting his eyes, looking into hers. "I think the Queen Anne's Lace ain't doin' what we need it to."

She smiled faintly and he saw the slightest trace of fear in her eyes and he held her as tightly against his side as he could, his lips resting against her temple.

"It'll be fine," he murmured against her skin and Beth nodded as she usually did when he said those words because one thing was always true between them.

She trusted him.

 _"_ _Hey. You guys up?"_

Daryl gave Beth's head one more kiss and then went to the can he had built into the wall, the one that was connected on a piece of string down to the other can that they had built into the cabin; their own version of a telephone.

"Yeah, we're up," Daryl answered Aaron. "You headin' up on the roof?"

 _"_ _Spencer and I are heading up there now. Aiden was teasing Bee and telling her that the roof was going to fall on our heads. She's been crying all morning," Aaron said._

And now that Aaron mentioned it, Daryl could hear the little girl wailing in the background and Rosita trying to calm her down again.

No matter if the world ended or not, the job of big brothers remained tormenting their little brothers and sisters. Daryl wondered how Eli would be as a big brother.

…

Beth spent her day inside, cooking and listening to the scraping of the shovels on the roof above her head. She was nervous about Eli being up there, but after she and Daryl had had "the talk" with him this morning, they couldn't very well tell him that he couldn't after telling him that he had to be strong and brave. It was something he had to learn. When it snowed too much, the weight of the snow might hurt their roofs and they had to get ahead of the snowfall.

They came in sometime late that morning and Beth made them hot cups of honey tea and they both stood by the wood-burning stove, drinking and warming themselves. Their hats, gloves and scarves were damp with melting snow and Beth didn't let them go outside again until they were dry and warm again. The last thing any of them needed was one of them getting sick.

"What's for dinner, mama?" Eli asked as he eyed the heavy pot on top of the stove.

"Mushroom and scallion soup," Beth answered as she went over the inventory on their shelves in their tree house and writing the numbers down in her journal. Tomorrow, she would do inventory in the cabin and in the root cellar. As Mulligan had predicted, winter was already bad and it had already begun.

She hoped that they had stored and prepared enough to get them all through it.

"Eli!"

Eli hurried to the window and saw that Aiden was in the yard, sinking down in the snow and rolling a large snow ball around.

"Gonna make a snowman! Come on!" Aiden called up to him.

"Tell 'im to stop yellin'," Daryl frowned. "His voice is echoin' across this entire mountain and he knows better."

Eli pushed his cup onto the counter and donned his scarf, hat and mittens as quickly as he could before throwing open the door in the floor and starting to climb down.

"Aiden, stop yelling!" Eli yelled at him.

Beth giggled as Daryl muttered something and closed the door after him before too much of the cold could blow in. Daryl poured himself another cup of the hot water from the kettle and Beth handed him the jar of honey. He leaned against the counter next to Beth and watched as she counted and wrote and then counted some more and he sipped his drink, feeling the honey slide down his throat, warming him up from the inside out.

"You nervous?" He asked her suddenly; quietly.

"No," Beth answered honestly and finished counting the jars of mushrooms and writing down the figure before lifting her eyes to him. "Are you?" She then asked.

Daryl shrugged. "Always nervous when it comes to you. Eli didn' exactly make givin' birth to 'im easy."

"No," Beth agreed. "But we all made it. God got us through that one and He already has a plan for this labor. Just have to trust Him that he'll keep us all safe."

Daryl wanted to snort at that, but he wisely stayed quiet. One of the things he loved most about Beth – and the list was too damn long to go through all of them – but one of those things was her faith. Even after everything that had happened and everything they had gone through, Beth still went on believing in God. It had wavered a couple of times over the year, but at the end of the day, she still prayed and read the Bible and she believed like Hershel had believed.

Daryl didn't have that. Never had and he never would. But because Beth believed in God so strongly, Daryl found himself a little bit more open to the possibility of some big guy being upstairs. He had asked Beth once – one night when they were both tucked into bed – that if there was a God, why did he let all of this happen.

"I think," she answered, tucking her hands beneath her cheek as she laid on her side, facing him. "It was like Noah and the flood. This was God's way of starting everything over. He didn't like what people were doing and he wanted to teach us a lesson," she said. "And He gave men free will a long time ago. What we do, all of the decisions we make to deal with this new world of His, is up to us."

"How do you do that?" Daryl had asked her. "How after everything?"

And he didn't need to make himself clearer because Beth knew what he was asking.

She lifted a hand to his cheek and he nearly closed his eyes at her gentle touch. Beth had, long ago, erased what had happened to him in his childhood with his old man, but sometimes, still, she would touch him and he'd still have to take a second to get used to something so gentle and kind.

"Believing in something makes me feel better," she responded in a near-whisper.

Daryl looked at her now as she counted containers of different clovers and grasses.

It wasn't as if Eli had been planned, but when Beth found out she was pregnant, after the initial shock wore off, he accepted it because it just felt like, to him, that it was one of those things that was just going to happen. This baby though, when Beth told him that she was late and she could _feel_ that she was pregnant, he hadn't known what to say to her. He couldn't pretend to be happy about it because he wasn't. They never planned on a second. Never even talked about it. It was just one of those things that was understood between them that Eli would be their one and only.

It wasn't like he could blame anyone though. He loved his wife and had sex with her and Queen Anne's Lace wasn't foolproof. Hell, even back in the day, condoms hadn't been one-hundred percent guaranteed to keep a guy from knocking a girl up. Maybe there _was_ someone in charge of all of this who had some plan and decided that him and Beth having a second baby was part of that plan.

Beth set her pencil down and stepped over to him, standing in front of him, her arms sliding around his waist. Even being aside for a few minutes now, there was still a cool draft clinging to his coat and it made her shiver a little. Daryl put his cup down on the counter behind him and rubbed her upper arms with his hands.

"We have to do something with Anna," Beth said quietly and Daryl blinked at her for a moment because that wasn't exactly what he was expecting her to say. Beth smiled faintly at his confusion, but it faded after a moment. "She has all of us, yes, and the kids, but… she's starting to reach that age. She might want to be around other people her age. _Boys_ her age."

Daryl's brow furrowed at that. "She say somethin' to you 'bout it?"

"Not in so many words," Beth admitted and she got such a sad look in her eyes then, Daryl felt his arms drop down to her hips and his fingers curled into her skin, holding on because he knew he wasn't going to like what she said next. "She talked to me that she might want to leave."

He was right.

"She can't leave," Daryl said immediately. "Where she gonna go? She say she was leavin'? Girl's only fourteen or fifteen. She can't jus' leave the mountain 'cause she's feelin' like she needs a boyfriend."

He felt anger and panic all at the same time.

Anna couldn't leave. She was just a kid. Alright, a teenager and kids grew up way too fast nowadays, so he supposed he could begrudgingly admit that she was practically an adult now, but still. She was just a kid. All of theirs. She was six when she was found by Rosita, Spencer and Aaron and they brought her back to Beth and Daryl and they had lived together since. They had all had a hand in raising her and damn it, she needed them as much as they needed her. Not just for the animals, but she was a part of their family and losing Mulligan was bad enough. They couldn't have Anna be gone from the family, too. Daryl would tie her down if he had to if it meant she wasn't able to leave them.

"Don't say anything to her about it yet," Beth said, squeezing her arms around his waist. "Please, Daryl. She confided in me and I wasn't supposed to tell you. If she _does_ leave, it won't be until spring anyway."

Daryl was quiet for a moment, all of this still rolling around in his head. "No," he said with a shake of his head. "I'm sorry, Beth, but no. I ain't gonna pretend like I don't know. I'm gonna talk with her."

"Daryl…" Beth began to protest, but she stopped before saying anything further because she knew that look in her husband's eye. When he got that look in his eye, there was no arguing with him or trying to talk him out of something once his mind was made up.

She knew she shouldn't have mentioned anything at all, but he was worried about the baby already and she had wanted to get his mind off of it. She knew she probably should have chosen a much different subject, but it was too late now to take it back.

Hearing giggling, they both looked to the window and out in the yard, he saw Eli, Aiden and now Bee, all bundled up warmly and all working on building a snowman, laughing as they played and caught falling snowflakes on their tongues. Just kids being kids even in the middle of this whole mess of a world.

It made Beth smile and it almost made Daryl smile, too.

But then Daryl saw the barn beyond them and one of the doors opened and Anna stepped out, one of the goats following after her, nudging her backside. She smiled and bent down, saying something to the animal that made it bleep in return and she laughed before kissing its head affectionately.

Daryl didn't care. Beth could look at him with those big eyes of hers all she wanted. It wasn't going to change his mind. He was going to talk to Anna and tell her how stupid she was being for even thinking about leaving their mountain. He was a dad – _her_ dad – and he wasn't going to just let her leave without a fight.

…

* * *

 **Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to review!  
**


	26. Turkey

**One reason I love writing this story so much is the chapters are able to fly out of me. A lot of these chapters might be considered "filler" chapters, but I love writing about their every-day life. I know it can get boring - especially during the winter months - but nonetheless, I hope you like this chapter.**

* * *

…

 **Chapter Twenty-six.** Turkey.

"I'm going."

Daryl leaned against one of the posts of the goat pen and watched Anna as she checked each of Blackie's shoes, carefully lifting each of the horse's legs and the horse was steady and patient as she did so. He wondered when the hell she had grown up. He still remembered when she was just a little kid, sitting on his lap and drinking a cup of milk as they listened to one of the books one of them was reading.

"It's stupid, Anna," Daryl told her point-blank.

Anna let out a huff and then gently set Blackie's leg down, giving the horse a pat. She then turned towards Daryl and looked at him for a long moment. "Tell me why I should stay. And it _can't_ be because you need me to look after the animals. Is that my only purpose in this family?"

"You know it ain't," Daryl frowned at her.

"We're just worried, Anna," Aaron spoke up.

When Daryl had talked with Aaron to let him know what Anna was planning to do, Aaron had volunteered to talk to her with him. And Daryl was grateful. Where Daryl admitted that he could get frustrated and lose his temper a bit, Aaron was calm and collected and sometimes, he was just better at words than Daryl was.

"We've been on this mountain for so long, I think you've forgotten what it's like when you leave here," Aaron said.

Anna stared at them both. "Mulligan not coming back definitely reminded me."

Both men were quiet at that.

Mulligan had been her grandfather, her dad and her best friend all rolled into one. In the old world, it probably wouldn't have made too much sense for a man in his sixties and a girl just around fifteen to be as close as they had been, but in this new world, that was the way things were now. People found one another and clicked and they held on because people – _living_ people – were rare nowadays. With Mulligan gone, Daryl knew that Anna was feeling a little lost right now. He _got_ that. He had felt the same way when he had to put his own brother down.

But she couldn't leave just because she was feeling sad.

"You guys don't get it," Anna said. She turned back towards Blackie when the horse began nudging at her backside and she pulled out a carrot she had taken from one of the jars in the root cellar and fed it to him, rubbing his snout.

"So explain it to us," Daryl said with his arms crossed over his chest.

Anna sighed and looked back to them. "I'm lonely. I'm not an adult like you, but I'm not a little kid like Aiden, Bee and Eli. Don't you get that?"

"Of course we get it," Aaron was the one to speak now. "You think I'm not lonely, too? You think I still don't reach out for Eric sometimes when I'm sleeping?"

Daryl couldn't help but look to his friend with a slightly furrowed brow. He hadn't known that. Aaron had never said anything.

Anna stared at Aaron and then after a moment, she shook her head. "At least you got a chance to be with someone," she said quietly.

Aaron and Daryl were both quiet at that, too.

The barn was warm – all of those animals packed together. It didn't smell the best, but Anna kept it clean, constantly changing out the stalls and shoveling the dung, adding it to the pile of it they kept on the other side of their fence. Mulligan had had plenty of hay when they had first gotten here, but that had been depleted over the years and they used dried corn stalk bales and dry grass now, and Anna made sure it was all changed in the pens every couple of days. Taking care of all of these animals was no small task, but Anna had never balked at the size of the job. She had been happiest being with Mulligan out here, learning everything the old man had to teach her, and now, this barn and these animals, they were hers.

"Beth's havin' another baby," Daryl blurted out, breaking the silence.

"Yeah?" Aaron looked to him with a little smile.

"Yeah," Daryl nodded his head once, almost feeling like smiling, but now wasn't the time. He moved his eyes towards Anna and she was now checking the goats' teeth.

"Congratulations," she said softly without looking at him. "It must be nice to have that chance to be with someone and have a family with that someone."

Daryl stopped himself before he could exhale a sigh.

Beth had warned him before he came out here to talk with her. Anna was a teenager now and not only was she a teenager, but a teenage _girl_ and that was a whole different kind of person. Once girls at this age got something set in their mind, there was little to convince her otherwise. Anna was set on leaving this mountain and nothing was going to change her mind. Daryl looked at her now and realized that. He and Aaron could stand out here and talk until they were blue in the face. This girl had grown into a stubborn one and not only did she want to do this, she felt that this was something she _had_ to do.

"You're stayin' until spring," Daryl heard himself say and he felt Aaron look at him with surprise, but he kept his eyes focused on Anna. She lifted her head to finally look at him and Daryl pushed himself off the post, but his arms remained crossed over his chest as he kept his eyes set on her. "You stay until spring and help us with the animals bein' born and sheerin' the sheep and then you can leave and go wherever the hell you want."

"You mean it?" Anna asked, almost in a whisper.

"But if you don't find anythin' by the time fall comes, you come back here and you're goin' to stay put," Daryl said. Anna didn't move or say anything. "I mean it, Anna. This is your home and we're your family and if whatever the hell you're lookin' for ain't out there, you come back here and you stay here and you don't leave again."

He was trying to be firm in his ruling and intimidating, but then Anna rushed to him and threw her arms around his middle, hugging him tightly, and after just a moment, Daryl put his own arms around her, hugging her back just as tightly.

"Thank you, Daryl," she whispered and she sounded like she was about to start crying. Daryl let out a breath as if he had been holding it and he tightened his arms a bit more around her as she buried her face into his coat.

After a moment, she then broke away and went to hug Aaron. Aaron still seemed a little surprised that Daryl had agreed to let her go, but he hugged her nonetheless and gave her a kiss on her head.

When Anna went to take the basket of eggs into the house and left the barn, Aaron looked to Daryl and didn't say anything. He simply raised an eyebrow at him and Daryl let out a heavy sigh.

"I can't have her stayin' here if she's miserable," Daryl explained his sudden change of heart. "She's not gonna be good for anyone if she's miserable."

Aaron nodded in agreement. "And she's right. She's not an adult yet, but it's not like we can treat her like one of the little kids."

Daryl sighed again.

"You've been training her for years," Aaron pointed out to him. "And with Beth, too. She knows what she's doing. And we have a few more months with her to make sure that she's ready."

Daryl thought that over for a second. What Aaron said was true. He had been teaching Anna self-defense since she was a little girl. Now, she was pretty capable of holding her own against a person in a fight. And not only that, but, Daryl had also taught her how to track and dress an animal and Beth had passed her knowledge of plants and natural medicines to her.

Daryl knew that if anyone could make it out of this mountain, it would be Anna.

But he also wasn't stupid enough to think that nothing could happen. Mulligan had been a tough son-of-a-bitch and the first time he left these mountains, he hadn't been able to come back to them. Anna was young. _Too_ young. No, she wasn't as old as the other adults and she wasn't as young as the other kids, but that didn't mean she wasn't young herself.

Daryl frowned to himself. Did he just make the completely wrong choice in letting her go when the snow melted? Did he just give her permission to leave this mountain and get herself killed? After Mulligan died, he told them all – and none of them had argued. None of them were ever leaving this mountain again. But now, he had just agreed to send his kid out there. He didn't care if Anna wasn't his own flesh and blood. She was every part his kid as Eli was. She was all of theirs. He should have discussed this with Beth, Spencer and Rosita – as well as discussed it more with Aaron, as well – before just agreeing to Anna's whims.

"Son of a bitch," Daryl muttered to himself and dug the heels of his hands into his eye sockets, rubbing them so hard, they hurt.

Aaron reached out and patted his shoulder. "Don't worry. We have a few more months. We might be able to change her mind before then."

Remembering something, Daryl pulled his hands down and looked at him, frowning a little despite his best efforts not to. "I didn't know about Eric. You never said."

Aaron shrugged and put his hands back into his coat pockets. "It's not really something that fits into conversation over dinner."

"Daddy!" Eli shouted from outside before Daryl could say anything in response.

Daryl and Aaron left the barn and Daryl saw Eli with Aiden and Bee near the door in the fence that led out. When Eli saw them, he ran to meet them half-way and then grabbed Daryl, pulling on his hand, trying to physically pull him.

"Come on, daddy!" The little boy exclaimed and Daryl could practically feel the excitement buzzing off of him like he was just struck with lightning and was now vibrating with electricity.

"Wha' is it?" Daryl asked, but allowed himself to be pulled, Aaron following them.

Everyone was outside the fence, near the bend in the nearby creek. They were all kneeling on the ground surrounding something and Daryl let go of Eli's hand to pull his hunting knife from the sheath at his hip. He had left his crossbow inside that day. They rarely left their yard during winter. They had everything they needed in their yard and Daryl knew it was probably stupid to not always be protected, but everyone walked around with knives at all times, even in the cabin or tree-house or barn, and sometimes, that felt good enough.

It was a dog. A wolf. A female wolf lying on her side next to the frozen creek and Daryl took one look at her swollen belly and knew that she was pregnant.

Beth lifted her head to look at him. "She's starving."

Daryl stood and watched for a moment as Spencer carefully poured water into the wolf's mouth. She was a weak thing and Daryl wondered when the pups were due.

They had lost Mick a couple of winters ago to nothing but old age. One night, the half-wolf/half-dog went to sleep as always next to Mulligan on the bed and the next morning, he just didn't wake up again. They had buried him behind the barn and now, Mulligan was buried at his faithful companion's side.

"Can we keep her?" Bee asked, looking up at Daryl with hope in her big eyes.

Daryl crouched down to get a closer look at the animal. "She seem sick to you?" He asked, looking to Beth, but then looked to Anna as she began running her hands over the wolf's body. They all watched her.

"She needs to eat," Anna decided. "She doesn't have any bites and no scratches. She hasn't been able to hunt in the snow." She then lifted her head to look at all of them, her eyes settling on Daryl. "The male wolf must have died."

Daryl nodded and then stood up. "We'll get the wagon-"

Before he could even finish, Eli and Aiden went running off to go get the wagon.

…

They set the wolf up on a quilt in front of wood-burning stove in the kitchen and Beth made sure she had plenty of fresh water and their leftover rabbit stew from the night before to eat. The wolf ate as if she hadn't eaten in days. That night, the rest of them ate fresh bread and cabbage and noodles and the kids all sat on the floor with the wolf, feeding her bits of their food and not wanting to be away from her.

"Be careful. 's still a wild animal," Daryl warned them.

"We have to name her," Aiden decided as they all ate.

"What are you thinking?" Rosita asked, pulling the kettle of warm milk from off the stove before filling everyone's cups.

"Something pretty," Bee said shyly as she gently pet the wolf on her side. "Lily," she then said and the wolf was thumping her tail against the floor at Bee's attention.

"That's actually a really good name for her," Beth agreed with a smile.

"It's too girly," Eli frowned.

"She's a _girl_ ," Anna told him.

"I think Lily is perfect," Aaron agreed. "You boys can name two of her puppies when she has them," he then suggested and Aiden and Eli both burst into grins at the suggestion, their minds beginning to run rampant with ideas already.

After dinner was cleaned up, it was no surprise when Eli, Aiden and Bee all wanted to sleep on the floor with Lily by the stove that night. And none of the others thought of any reason why they couldn't. She was a wolf, yes, but she was exhausted and too weak and she seemed unable to lift her head without a great effort, let alone one of her paws to swipe at one of the kids.

"What happened in the barn?" Beth asked once she and Daryl were up in their house and Daryl stoked the fire in their own stove to life to warm the room. She sat down on the bed and after pulling off her boots and coat, she curled up onto the bed.

Daryl sat down on the edge of the bed, taking off his own coat and boots before he joined her. Still fully dressed, they got beneath their quilts and curled up together, trying to stay warm together until the fire began to do its job.

"I gave in too easily," Daryl admitted. "I told her she could leave once the snow melted and she had until the end of fall."

"For what?" She asked him, her fingers slowly tunneling through his hair, pushing it back from his face and the action made him slowly close his eyes.

"To find whatever the hell she thinks she's lookin' for out there," he told her.

Beth moved a little closer and her nose brushed against his, her eyes closing. Daryl's hand slid over her hip and he pulled her body tightly against his.

"So, we have her for a few more months," Beth said softly.

"I shouldn' be lettin' her go at all," Daryl sighed, opening his eyes again to look at her face as her own eyes remained closed. It was his turn to brush hair back from her face. "I jus' hate the idea of forcin' her to stay here if she's so damn sad," he then said so quietly, he didn't know if Beth could even hear him.

But he knew she did when she smiled faintly and with her eyes staying closed, she scooted in even closer to him and his arm wrapped around her lower back, keeping her close. He leaned his forehead in and rested it against hers.

"Just when I think you can't get any better than you already are, Daryl Dixon," she murmured softly and her fingers went to the back of his neck, toying with the hair.

They laid there, together, wrapped up in one another, for a minute or two, slowly feeling the room become filled with warmth and they would change into their pajamas before going to sleep for the night, but for now, they were too comfortable to move. If Daryl was being honest with himself, this right here, this moment in time with Beth, was the only moment he ever wanted for the rest of his life.

"How are you feelin'?" He asked her quietly.

"Tired," she answered honestly and as if just thinking about it, she let out a yawn.

"You didn' take it easy when you were pregnant with Eli. I don't wan' you to do the same thing this time. I wan' you to take it easy this time, Beth."

Beth didn't say anything to that immediately and he knew that she was thinking of something to say in protest.

"Do you remember that day we found each other in the prison yard and we ran?" She asked and it caught him off guard for a moment just because he wasn't really expecting her to _ever_ say anything like that.

"Think it's damn near impossible to forget," he answered.

She nodded in agreement and her eyes opened to look into his. "We were two of the last ones left. Everyone else had already run and gotten the heck out of there, but you and me were still there. You were still trying to kill those people and the walkers and I was trying to find the kids."

Daryl moved his arm back and his fingers curled around her hip, giving it a gentle squeeze, wondering why she was talking about this. He would never forget that day; one of the worst days of his life. But not able to forget it and wanting to remember it were two different things.

"I've thought about that day from time to time," Beth confessed. "How, out of everyone from the prison, it was you I ran into and we were able to run together."

Daryl looked at her and stayed silent; just listened to where her mind was going.

"I think despite how awful that day was and how chaotic, we were always meant to be together," Beth said softly. "To find each other. To find each other and build everything that we've built in all of these years together."

Daryl looked at her for a moment. "So does this mean you ain't takin' it easy?"

She let out a soft laugh then and dipped her head down, pressing it to his chest, still laughing, and Daryl felt himself smiling a little, too, his arms circling around her once more, holding onto her tightly and close. And for a brief second, his mind went to Anna and how she wanted this with someone. She wanted to feel close to someone; to feel a connection and if she stayed here, she wouldn't get that chance.

Maybe he shouldn't be doubting his decision to let her leave the mountain because this with Beth, being able to hold onto her and having her to hug him whenever she damn well pleased, there was nothing better in the world than that.

…

The day Daryl and Spencer went out hunting and brought back a wild turkey, Lily gave birth to her puppies in the barn. Anna handled it with Rosita and Beth helping and there were three pups, but one didn't make it, so then there were two. Two males.

They were all in the barn, watching the pups nurse from Lily, Aiden and Eli arguing about names, when Daryl and Spencer got back and they came in, the large dead bird hanging from Spencer's hand. He held it up with a grin.

"Check it out," he showed it off to all of them.

"Oh my gosh!" Beth gasped, her hands flying to her mouth.

In all of their years here, they had seen only a couple of wild turkeys in different spots in the woods and they had actually never been able to get one for themselves and she now looked at the bird, a mixture of shock and amazement across her face.

She slowly stood up, unable to take her eyes off of it. "It's so much bigger than a Butterball," she said and Daryl smirked a little at that.

"I'll pluck it and clean it out and figured it's cold enough so havin' a turkey dinner makes sense. Might be Thanksgivin' and we don't even know it," Daryl said.

Beth stepped forward and gently ran her hand over the feather-covered body. She then lifted her eyes to her husband. "Tomorrow. I'll cook it tomorrow. This is going to take hours to cook."

"We're going to have Thanksgiving?" Rosita asked, a smile growing across her face. She hadn't thought of Thanksgiving in years. Why would she? And she definitely hadn't thought of how Thanksgiving used to be her favorite holiday.

"What's Thanksgiving?" Eli asked.

"The Pilgrims, Eli," Anna spoke up. "Remember?"

Eli gasped at that, his eyes widening. "Thanksgiving!" He then exclaimed.

Daryl spent the rest of the afternoon, plucking the feathers, with Bee helping him, teaching her how to do it, and Beth and Rosita were in the root cellar, taking stock of what they had and what they would be able to spare for the unplanned feast they were having the next day.

"Mulberries?" Rosita asked, pulling down one of the jars.

One thing plentiful on the mountains during the spring and summer months were berries. Blackberries, huckleberries, mulberries and even wild grapes. They picked pounds of them and always had jars and jars of them in the winter months.

"Do we have the sugar to spare?" Rosita looked to Beth.

"We can spare a little," Beth agreed. "And we can't have Thanksgiving without a cranberry substitute of some kind."

Rosita smiled at that and pulled down another jar.

"And with the milk to mix with them, we'll have mashed potatoes," Beth decided, taking down two jars of their canned potatoes. "I just wish we had gravy."

"We won't even notice it's not there," Rosita assured her.

"I'll make cornbread, too."

"What should we do for dessert?" Rosita wondered, looking over the shelves. "You know… it _is_ a special occasion."

Beth looked to Rosita, smiling and raising an eyebrow. "I feel like you're trying to make anything a special occasion," Beth teased her as Rosita went to the corner of the root cellar where the adults had hid something from the kids – not that they would know what they were anyway since they had never eaten them before.

Up on the highest shelf, in a shoe box labeled "shoe polish" as a way to deter them just in case they did get curious, Rosita stood on her tip toes and pulled the box down. And inside, there were six Kit-Kat chocolate candy bars; found a few years earlier when they had stumbled upon a boarded up convenience store deep within these mountains. All of them had agreed to save them and most of the time, Beth honestly forgot that they even had them at all.

"Alright," Beth agreed. "But keep them down here until tomorrow. I don't want someone sneaking and stealing one in the middle of the night before dinner tomorrow. Namely Spencer."

Rosita laughed and returned the box to the top shelf. She then came back to her at the shelves. "Are you scared?" She asked softly and Beth knew exactly what she was talking about.

Beth exhaled a soft breath. "A little," she admitted, which was more than what she would admit to Daryl because that man was scared enough for the both of them. She turned her head towards Rosita. "Were you scared with Bee?" She asked.

"Petrified," Rosita answered without pause. "I was scared with Aiden, but then he was born and everything was good and he was healthy and I just felt that with the second, I was just pushing my luck."

Beth nodded because that was _exactly_ how she was feeling, too. Her pregnancy with Eli had gone as well as it could in this world and the labor had been terrifying – thank God for Anna, she still thinks to this day, who was able to turn Eli right for the birth – but he had been born with his health and now, with this baby, Beth knew that she couldn't do anything about it, but what if this baby was born and wasn't healthy? What would they do? What _could_ they do?

Rosita turned and wrapped her arms around Beth's shoulders in a tight hug and Beth wrapped her arms around her in return.

"No matter what happens, we'll get through it," Rosita told her.

"We always do," Beth added.

…

The turkey went into the oven first thing in the morning and, as predicted, it took most of the day to cook and in addition to the bird, they had mulberries, mashed potatoes and corn bread. It really was a feast and they all sat down at the table and for one passing moment, they all thought of Mulligan because he would have loved every single second of this.

None of them were starving and they were able to eat every day – and eat good food, too – but they could hardly remember the last time they had eaten anything like this. It was almost so incredible, a part of it almost didn't even seem real.

Daryl sat at the head of the table in his usual chair and looked over everyone as they ate and laughed and talked. His family. He loved every single one of them and would do anything to keep every single one of them safe. He thought of what Beth had talked about that night a couple of weeks earlier – about the day they ran from the prison and how out of everyone, it had the two of them and then, slowly, other people came into their lives and now, Daryl sat there and ate his turkey dinner and though sometimes, his thoughts still lingered on Rick or Carol, most days, he couldn't imagine his life being any other way than the way it was right now.

As Beth often said, everything happened for a reason. This was all supposed to happen. Years ago, when the Governor rolled up with his tank and his guns, it was because years later, Daryl was supposed to be sitting at this table in these mountains with his wife and son and his other family, eating a Thanksgiving dinner.

"Are you alright?" Beth asked him quietly, leaning in closer to him from her seat. "You look like you're a million miles away. Is it the turkey? Is it dry? I wish we had gravy or something…"

Daryl didn't answer her. He just leaned in and gave her a warm kiss on the forehead.

…

* * *

 **Thank you so much for reading and please take a moment to review! I might write a solo-Anna chapter, but I'm not sure if there is interest for that. Please let me know!**


	27. Spat

**I don't even know how to thank all of you anymore. The support and enthusiasm you show for this story never ceases to give me the best feeling in the world. Thank you so much. And I hope you don't hate me with this chapter.**

* * *

…

 **Chapter Twenty-seven.** Spat. **  
**

"Daddy got hurt," Bee said, coming through the backdoor into the kitchen where Beth was seconds before Spencer came in behind her, holding a hand to his head.

And now, minutes later, he was sitting at the table and after washing the cut and holding a sewing needle over a candle flame to sterilize it, Beth was stitching the cut above his eyebrow closed as carefully as possible, Spencer trying not to flinch, and doing his best to give Bee smiles because she was standing there, watching him with watery eyes and a trembling chin.

"Your daddy's fine, Bee," Beth tried to assure her while she kept her hand steady and only looked to the little girl long enough to give her a smile before looking back to her work, making sure the stitches were pulled tight enough together. "Your daddy has a _very_ hard head."

"It smells good in here," Spencer noted in an attempt to distract both Bee and himself, taking a whiff of the air. "That dinner?" He asked, referring to the heavy iron pot on the stove. "Let me guess. Turkey."

Beth laughed a little. Ever since their Thanksgiving dinner a few nights earlier, they had been having left-over turkey in one form or another for dinner since. "How did you guess?" She joked and Spencer grinned. "Turkey noodle stew with cabbage and carrots. And I actually think I got all of the meat off of it that I'm going to get."

"Thank God," Spencer couldn't stop himself from muttering. "Imagine if me and Daryl had brought back one of those boars that run around here. We'd be eating their meat for the next month."

Beth smiled as she leaned a little closer, almost finishing closing the wound. "Daryl says that boars usually have too many parasites. I'd be too afraid to eat one, to be honest, no matter how long we cooked it."

"Hmmmm." Spencer couldn't help but flinch a little as Beth drew out the last stitch and then leaned in, biting the string off with her teeth before tying the end off. "But bacon. Remember bacon, Beth?" He asked her with a smile and she laughed again.

"What's bacon?" Bee asked as Beth went to go wash the needle and cloth in the sink.

Spencer smiled and leaned forward, picking up his daughter and settling her on his lap. "It was a food people used to eat and it was probably the best food in the world. You know the boars that we sometimes see when we're out picking berries and flowers?" He asked and Bee nodded, looking at him with curiosity and confusion, having absolutely no idea what her dad was talking about. "Well, bacon comes from things like the boars. They were pigs and they were delicious."

Bee frowned at him. "Like Wilbur?" She asked. "You ate Wilbur?"

Spencer paused for a moment, having forgotten that Rosita had just finished reading _Charlotte's Web_ to her. "Not Wilbur _exactly_ ," he tried to explain. "Wilbur was a runt-"

Bee crossed her arms over her chest and frowned at him and holy shit, did Spencer look at his little girl and see Rosita in that moment. He looked to Beth for a little help, but Beth just smiled as she returned the clean needle to Rosita's sewing basket in the living room and then went back to stir the stew.

"Alrigh', you idiot," Daryl said, opening the backdoor and stepping into the kitchen, Eli on his heels, and Eli quickly shut the door back behind them so the cold didn't have time to fill the room. The sky was gray that day and heavy with clouds and the air smelled like more snow was coming their way. "I nailed the plank back on the wall so you can't be hurtin' yourself anymore on it."

"Really?" Spencer frowned up at him even though he was grateful for the distraction away from Bee's judgmental frown. "A piece of wood smacks me in the head and it's _my_ fault."

"What happened?" Beth asked, helping Eli unwind his scarf from around his neck and unbutton his coat before gently pushing him closer towards the fire burning in the hearth in the living room.

"I was climbing up to the hayloft to get more grass for Anna. You know. _Helping_. And I was climbing up and one end of one of the planks pulled right out and smacked me in the head," Spencer said, still frowning at Daryl.

"Yeah, yeah," Daryl muttered and then with a firm hand on Spencer's face, he tilted it up so he could see the stitches. "Beth put you back together again so stop complain'," he said before taking off his own coat and gloves.

"I'm sorry if worried about a possible concussion is considered complaining to you," Spencer retorted with a roll of his eyes, which made Bee giggle behind her hand.

"Stew will be done in a few more hours. For lunch though, I have lavender bread," Beth said, carrying the fresh loaf over to the table as well as jar of honey. "I'm not sure how good it's going to be though. I used the acorn flour to make it."

Daryl had already cut off a slice and had taken a bite. "'s real good," he said and leaned down, pressing a kiss to her cheek, and she felt her face warm under his affection. She smiled up at him and he gave her a smile as he took another bite.

The back door opened again and Anna entered, a bucket in her hand. She hefted it up onto the table. "Lucky keeps giving us milk," she said to no one in particular.

Beth smiled and gave her a quick kiss on the head. "That's a good thing though. The last thing any of us need is osteoporosis."

"What's osteopropis?" Bee asked, struggling with the word.

"You're full of questions today," Spencer teased and began tickling her sides, the little girl squealing with laughter and trying to get away.

Beth filled the kettle with milk and went to go place it over the flames of the fireplace in the living room so they could have cups of warm milk with their bread. As she turned back towards the kitchen, she instantly noticed the way Daryl was watching Spencer and Bee, a slight crease between his brows as he watched the girl squirm and laugh and the way Spencer grinned as he kept tickling her.

And for one of the few times in all of their years together, Beth couldn't read his expression. She had no idea what Daryl was thinking just then.

"Anna," Beth said, moving her eyes away from Daryl – making sure she asked him what was wrong the instant they were alone – and looked to Anna. "Lily is still too weak for my liking. Could you bring her and the pups in here for a little bit? Eli, you can help her. I just want them near the fire for the afternoon."

Eli quickly moved to put his coat and scarf back on. He loved the wolf pups and was always coming into the barn to check up on them and to pester Anna with all sorts of questions about them. The Mulligan family had had a few old books about these mountains and about animals and Anna had already read everything she could find about wolves. And though she loved Lily and the pups in just a short time, she admitted that she was a bit nervous about having the wolves in the same barn as the sheep and goats – no matter how docile Lily seemed at the moment.

Anna nodded and taking a slice of bread for herself and cutting another for Eli, handing it to him, the two left the cabin, heading outside again.

"Bee, would you like to help?" Beth asked and Spencer stopped his tickling and kissed the side of her head.

"Go on and help," he told the little girl, lifting her off from his lap and returning her to her feet. Her hat and scarf were on the table and he made sure she was bundled up before giving her a light pat on her bum and Bee went scurrying out the door.

"What's wrong?" Beth asked Daryl the instant the door closed and it was just the three adults in the kitchen.

Daryl exhaled heavily and sat down at the table across from Spencer. He cut himself another slice of bread as Beth sat down in the chair next to him.

"Watchin' Bee just now, it got me thinkin' 'bout Judith," he said.

Beth admitted that she couldn't help but be surprised and she wasn't too sure what to say to that at first. She admitted that she had stopped thinking about the girl years earlier. It had been the only way Beth had been able to get through probably never seeing her again. It had been the same with Maggie – before learning of her sister's death. Beth went through each day with the thought that everyone was alive and safe and it helped her move on with her own life.

After the prison, Beth's arms had ached for the baby, but so long had passed now and when they had seen Rick again, Daryl had told her that Rick had said that Judith was safe and that was all Beth had needed – and wanted – to hear.

"Rick said she's alright," Spencer was the one to speak first.

Daryl had poured honey on his bread, but he hadn't taken a bite. Nonetheless, Beth saw him swallow as if his throat was too dry and he needed to clear it once again. She felt her stomach tighten. He had something to say and she knew – already – that she wasn't going to like whatever it was.

They heard voices outside.

"Aiden, come help us!" Eli shouted and Beth made a note to herself to remind Eli about shouting. All of the kids knew better than to shout like that.

And then a moment later, the door was shoved open and Rosita rushed inside, Aaron behind her, the basket in Rosita's hands full of burdock. She dropped it onto the table and hurried to Spencer, pulling off her mittens and putting her hands on his face, tilting it up, she looked at the stitches.

"I'm fine, babe," he told her.

Rosita leaned in and kissed the stitches. "You're an idiot," she told him and he smiled. She then looked to Beth. "Thank you."

Beth gave her a smile, but it faded as she looked back to Daryl. "What about her?" She asked him, wanting him to finish saying what was one his mind.

"Judith's fine. That's what Rick said," Daryl continued and he handed the piece of bread to Aaron as the man sat down, no longer having the appetite for it. "She's been livin' all these years with Negan."

Beth instantly gasped. "What?" She asked in a whisper.

"Negan took her while she was still lil'. Been raisin' her this whole time," Daryl said and he slowly turned his head to look at her.

Beth shook her head slowly. "You never said anything."

"I told you 'bout Maggie and Glenn. I decided to keep the rest to myself," he told her.

Beth stared at him and she could hear the others talking, but their voices were like low buzzes in her ears. She couldn't decipher the words. How old would Judith be now? Ten? Eleven? Beth had lost track. She obviously wouldn't be a baby anymore. And how long had she been living with Negan? That horrible man who had beat Glenn to death and had killed her sister of a broken heart had sweet little Judith?

And Daryl decided that he just didn't want to tell her?

Without a word, Beth stood up from the table, everyone stopping talking to look at her. But Beth didn't look at any of them. Especially Daryl. Without a word, she took her coat off from the hook on the wall and putting it on, she went outside, closing the door behind her. She could hear the kids in the barn, laughing and playing around, and Beth walked towards the stairs of their tree house. Flurries were starting to fall from above, lighting and dancing without ever seeming to land on anything and she felt a few stick to her cheeks as she climbed the stairs and then the ladder, pushing open the door in the floor and pulling herself up into their home.

She heard steps behind her and she knew it was Daryl and she knew it was immature, but she didn't care. She closed the door behind her. She went straight to the stove and began lighting a fire to get some warmth into the room once again and she heard the door open behind her and then Daryl pulled himself up, closing the door once behind him. She didn't turn to look at him. She could feel him looking at her, but Beth was angry and she was going to stay angry for a few more minutes.

"I didn't tell you 'cause I didn' think you needed to know," Daryl broke the silence.

Beth instantly whirled around to look at him. "How dare you make _any_ kind of decision about what _you_ think I should and should not know."

"I was protectin' you, Beth," Daryl frowned at her. "What were you gonna do if I told you? You fell apart after I told you 'bout Maggie and Glenn. What were you goin' to do if I told you 'bout Judith, too?"

Beth had no idea what she would have done, but that wasn't the point. "I raised that baby, Daryl. Do you remember that? I was that baby's mama for the first year of her life. She was _mine_. Don't you think I would want to know what happened to her?"

"What would you have done if I told you?" Daryl asked her again and the question was frustrating and infuriating to her because she didn't know.

"Why haven't you done something?" Beth fired back at him.

Daryl stared at her for a hard moment and she regretted asking the question because she knew this man. He wasn't the sort to just sit around when someone he cared about needed help. She knew that Rick had probably told him to not do anything. Rick wasn't the man he was, but at least Beth knew now why he hadn't taken Negan out already. The man had Judith and Rick was keeping his daughter safe. She imagined that she and Daryl would do the same thing if someone had taken Eli and was practically holding him prisoner away from them. They would do anything and agree to anything to keep their son safe.

"You think I didn't want to?" Daryl asked her. " _Rick_ told me not to. He told me 'bout this Negan guy. This isn' like the Governor with a few screws loose in his head. This guy is a psychopath and Rick knows things suck, but this is how they all stay alive."

Beth exhaled a shaky breath. "You should have told me, Daryl," she said.

Daryl stayed silent and Beth knew that he thought he had done the right thing and nothing she could say was going to change that.

"You can't protect me from everything," she continued.

"But I can keep you safe. And I can keep you from losin' your mind over somethin' you can't control," he fired back at her, his voice harsh but she saw the way he was looking at her. Despite the tense way he held his body right now, he seemed nervous. Almost scared.

Beth took a step towards him, but then stopped herself. She knew that they hardly ever fought, but she was still angry. She had proven herself time and time again over these years that she was just as tough as him. He didn't have to treat her like a little girl and shield her from the way of things of this new world.

"I know you love me, Daryl, and I love you so much, but you can't pick and choose what I know," she told him.

Daryl stared at her for another moment and then with a heavy sigh and without another word, he went and lowered himself in the armchair he and Mulligan had taken from the town at the base of the mountain. They had two armchairs situated at the stove so during the cold nights, she would sit in one, writing in her journal, and he would sit in the other, usually sharping his knives or whittling something from a piece of wood, and Eli would lie on his stomach on the floor, reading out loud from one of his books.

Beth didn't go to her own chair. Instead, she went and knelt down in front of Daryl. He lifted his head and looked at her as she sat between his legs, her hands on his knees and she looked into his eyes.

"Are you sure she's safe?" She asked in a soft voice.

Daryl nodded and for a moment, she didn't think he would actually speak, but then he cleared his throat. "Rick still gets to see her. I guess Negan's been good to her. Been teachin' her jus' like we've been teachin' our kids and where Negan and his people live, it's safe. 's what Rick says."

Beth nodded and didn't say anything to that; having absolutely no idea what to say. How can a man who beat another man's head in with a bat be good to anyone? But Daryl was right. If that was the way Rick had to live to keep Judith safe, Beth understood. She more than understood. It was exactly what she would do herself.

She stood up, but before she took a step away from him, Daryl's fingers gently wrapped around her wrist. She looked down at him and he looked up at her. Still, without a word, he pulled her closer to him and Beth sat down on his leg. He wrapped his arms around her waist and Beth wrapped hers around his neck and they sat, hugging and not exchanging a word.

"Rick's different," Daryl said after a few minutes, his voice gruff and low. "What happened to Glenn, and it happenin' right in front of him, it changed 'im. He's not the same Rick we used to know."

Beth was quiet as she listened and her fingers began gently scratching through the hairs on the back of his head, thinking to herself that he needed a haircut.

"I don't know how I'd be if I saw somethin' like that happen, but I like to think that if anyone ever threatened you or Eli or the baby, I'd burn this earth down to get you back," he said.

Beth pulled her head back just enough so she could look into his face. "You would." Her voice was soft yet strong.

Daryl looked into her eyes and then with a hand on the back of her head, he gently pulled her down so he could capture her lips with his. Beth felt her body relax against him, as if it was sagging and emptying itself of its breath, and Daryl's arms tightened around her waist, holding her close, dragging her as close to him as possible. They had things to get back to - jobs that couldn't be ignored – but even though Beth knew that, that didn't mean she was willing to leave his embrace.

As the kiss went on and on, their lips occasionally breaking apart so they could take short gasps to refill their lungs before diving back in, Beth wondered if a person could ever faint from a kiss. She thought maybe she had seen an old movie once with a glamorous woman in black and white kissing a man and then fainting a moment later. The thought nearly made her giggle against Daryl's lips. If she was to faint right now, she could just imagine Daryl's reaction. He'd be terrified and then would overreact and would probably never be willing to kiss her again.

They both heard steps coming up the tree house stairs at the same time and their lips slowly parted. Her eyes blinked open to find that Daryl was already looking at her and she gave him a small smile – almost as if she was shy – and he smirked a little. His thumb brushed across her bottom lip.

"'s a lil' swollen," he commented.

"I wonder why," she joked and he smirked again. "We haven't had a kiss like that in a long time," she then pointed out to him.

"Don't like you bein' mad at me."

She laughed at that and putting her hands on his shoulders, Beth pushed herself from Daryl's lap and stood up again, taking a step back so he could stand up, too.

"Well, I am still a little mad," she admitted.

"Guess I'll jus' have to kiss you again," he shrugged and she laughed again.

Before he could though, they heard a knock on the door in the floor. "Daddy," Eli said from the other side.

Daryl reached out and gave Beth's hip a quick squeeze before going to the door and opening it to reveal their son, his head poking in. "What are you doin', takin' that pup away from Lily?" Daryl asked, but he reached out and took the wolf pup in his arms so Eli could climb the rest of the way inside. He turned and closed the door before turning towards parents with a wide grin.

"Me and Aiden picked names," he beamed proudly. "This is Buck and the other pup, we've named him Spitz."

Beth smiled at both names. They read out loud from a book every night – usually after dinner – and it was something she and Daryl had started doing with one another, years earlier when they had first found their home in the St. George subdivision; they still read from their Susanna Kearsley collection. And reading out loud was a habit that the rest of the family had adapted to as well. Jack London's books, especially _Call of the Wild_ , was in their top favorites.

Eli and Aiden had clearly looked to that book for name inspiration.

A grin broke through on Daryl's face and he held the pup up, looking into his face. "Buck, huh?" He asked. "How are we gonna tell 'em apart?" He looked to Eli and Eli grinned, his chest puffed out a bit with pride that the names were liked.

"Buck has a brown eye and a blue eye. Spitz only has brown eyes," Eli said.

Daryl held the pup up again in front of his face so he could look into the pup's eyes and Beth took steps closer to look into the eyes as well and sure enough. She wondered why she hadn't noticed that. It _was_ pretty obvious that this pup had two different colored eyes.

"Buck," she smiled and reached out, rubbing a hand behind one of his ears.

And Buck's tail began to wag back and forth, seeming to like the name, too.

…

Winter passed as it always did. Slowly with snow falling and the wind blowing and Beth always sat at her desk every night, looking over her journal, hoping they had enough food to get them through. She worried about it every year no matter how good their garden had done in the spring and summer and despite how much food they were able to store down in their root cellar.

Her stomach seemed to pop out overnight, just as it had done during her pregnancy with Eli, and she smiled faintly as she habitually rubbed a hand over her bump as she worked down in the kitchen or up in the tree house. She could feel the baby fluttering around inside, but not enough months had passed where everyone else could feel it, too. The baby wasn't due until late spring and Beth hoped that Anna would still be here to help Rosita with the birth.

Anna still had plans to leave the mountain in the spring – just as Daryl had promised her that she could – but they had goats and sheep and chickens that would give birth and she had promised to stay and help with all of those before she left.

They weren't sure when, but Buck got into the habit of sticking to Eli like glue and the wolf pup spent his nights up in the tree house with them, curling up on Eli's bed.

And it was during one of these nights when Buck woke up, hearing Beth crying from the other side of the tree house, and then he heard Daryl throw the door open and he ran out. Beth's cries were getting louder and then Eli woke up, too, lifting his head a little from the pillow, disoriented, still half asleep, wondering why his mama was crying.

Buck's ears were sharp and pointed on his head, perked to full attention as he listened. Daryl was rushing back up the ladder and with him, he had brought Rosita and Anna.

Beth was crying almost hysterically now and Eli pushed the covers off his body and he slid from the bed, but he didn't take any steps away. He stood there and he reached out, putting his hand on Buck's body, the dog still sitting, frozen on the bed, as if he needed to feel him in that moment. Eli felt his entire body freeze as well and he couldn't move. He had never heard his mama cry like she was right now. It almost made his chest hurt as he listened to her.

"It's gone, it's gone," Beth was saying through her tears and sobs and Eli didn't know what she was talking about, but hearing her cry, he felt his own eyes fill with tears.

…

* * *

 **Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to review.**


	28. Weep

**A shorter chapter compared to what I usually write for this story, but I had to have this chapter standalone. I know there are a few who aren't happy at all with what I did, but it's been something I've been wanting to try with Daryl and Beth for a while.**

* * *

…

 **Chapter Twenty-eight.** Weep. **  
**

They would have had a daughter and Beth held the stillborn baby in her arms, kissing her on the head with tears streaming down her cheeks telling her that she loved her and that she was such a beautiful baby.

"What should we name her?" Beth asked, lifting his eyes as he crouched at her bedside. "We have to name her. So everyone knows she was someone."

"Course she was someone," Daryl said, his voice a bit gruffer than usual; having gone hours without using it properly. He thought for a moment. It was hard to look at the baby in Beth's arms; so small and not moving, but he didn't look anywhere else because that was his and Beth's daughter. "Ruby," he then said, looking to Beth.

More tears gathered in Beth's eyes, but she still managed a small smile. "Ruby who's eyes that sparkle," she whispered, remembering the song that Mulligan used to sing sometimes; one of those songs that had been around for generations. Mountain songs. And Ruby Dixon was such a good name.

She leaned in and kissed her daughter's head once more. "I want to keep holding her," she whispered as tears splashed down her cheeks.

Daryl stood up and kissed her head, leaving his lips resting in her hair. "You hold her for as long as you want. No one's takin' her from you."

He felt tears pricks in his own eyes and he closed them before any of his own tears could fall. He didn't want to do that in front of Beth. She had just had to push their baby from her body, knowing that she wasn't alive anymore. The last thing Beth needed right now was Daryl crying, too.

When the sun had risen and had given them enough light, despite the ground being frozen, Spencer and Aaron worked at it for an hour, digging a small hole behind the barn that would join the graves of Mulligan and Mick, and in the barn, Daryl worked on building a tiny box as Anna made the cross. When they were both done, Daryl carved 'RUBY' into the cross and Anna gave a nod, swallowing hard before speaking.

"That's a really pretty name," she said softly.

And Daryl didn't say anything, but he nodded in agreement. He bowed his head and rested his hands on the small box. He didn't know if he could do this. He had to, he knew, but he didn't know if he actually could. This was his baby. And the ground was so cold. She was going to be so cold.

Eli had been told to go down to the cabin the night before when Beth woke up to blood in the bed and Daryl had raced to get Rosita and Anna to come and help and he was still there. Daryl knew that he had to go talk to him, but what was he doing to say? Yesterday, Beth was pregnant and now, this morning, she wasn't anymore. Eli was still struggling with death and Daryl didn't know if the little boy would understand and Daryl didn't know if he would be able to handle the likely questions.

But he had to go because Eli was probably scared and confused and Daryl couldn't just let him be like that.

Spencer and Aaron were finished digging, and were now leaning on their shovels, each taking their own moment, but when they saw Daryl step out of the barn with Anna, they all followed him into the cabin. Rosita was in the kitchen with the three children sitting at the table, all quiet as they drank their cups of warm milk and ate plates of scrambled eggs – one of the few things that Rosita was actually able to make. They all looked up as the others entered and without a word, Eli slid from his chair and came to Daryl and Daryl stooped down, lifting the boy up in his arms.

"Wanna see your mama?" Daryl asked and Eli nodded. "Get your coat."

Daryl kissed him on the temple and then set him down again. He knew this might scare Eli; seeing the dead baby girl in Beth's arms, but this was something Eli had to see. In this world, death was the only thing certain and Eli had to get used to it; no matter how much it hurt or angered them.

Once Eli had his coat on and wrapped his scarf around his neck, Rosita handed Daryl a plate covered with a cloth.

"I have no idea if either of you have an appetite…" Rosita trailed off.

"Thanks," Daryl said, taking the plate warm with scrambled eggs. It looked like she wanted to say something else and her eyes were wet with tears, but she turned away before she could talk or cry and Daryl was silently grateful for it.

Outside, instead of running ahead like he usually did, Eli walked beside him as they went through the snow that fell the day before that they hadn't shoveled yet. They walked up the stairs, but Daryl stopped on the landing and Eli stopped too, looking up at him, it obvious that Eli wanted him to say _something_. Anything. Daryl swallowed and crouched down in front of Eli, handing him the plate to hold.

"Your mama is upstairs and she's holding your sister," Daryl told him.

"She died," Eli whispered. "Rosita told me."

"Yeah," Daryl said, nearly whispering, and he had to look away from him for a moment, feeling the stinging in his eyes again.

"Why did she die?" Eli asked the question Daryl knew that he would, but Daryl still had no idea what to say to him about it because he had the same question himself.

Why had Ruby died? Why had Rosita been able to have two kids and Beth have one and the three were healthy and happy, but then Ruby hadn't been able to make it past her sixth month? Beth hadn't done anything differently this time around that she had done when she had been pregnant with Eli. It was bullshit and it was unfair, but he couldn't say that to Eli. He had to say something that would make the boy understand that these things happened and there was nothing they could do about it. Beth was always so much better at talking with him about things like this.

Daryl looked back at him and Eli looked so sad and confused. Despite the plate between them, Daryl wrapped his arms around him and hugged him and Eli pressed his head onto his shoulder. Daryl didn't say anything and Eli didn't ask again.

Upstairs, Buck was on the bed – as if he was protecting her from any more harm – with Beth as she continued sitting up, holding Ruby in her arms. Daryl knew that she had been crying more – her cheeks flushed and eyes red. She lifted her head when she heard them and she did her best to smile at them.

"Rosita made scrambled eggs," Daryl said, sliding the plate on the little table next to Beth's side of the bed.

Eli was hanging back and both Daryl and Beth looked at him. Beth then looked up at Daryl, asking the question silently, but she didn't have to voice it. It was clear on her face and he rubbed a hand across the back of his neck.

"We can't shield 'im," he said in a low voice.

Beth looked at him for another moment and then looked to Eli. "It's okay, honey," she said and slowly, Eli began approaching the bed.

When they had brought back Mulligan, he had been wrapped in a sheet and they had kept the children away from the body. Eli had never seen a dead body before and he was obviously scared, but he kept taking the brave steps forward until he stood next to Daryl at the side of the bed.

"She's tiny," Eli said quietly, staring at the still baby in Beth's arms.

Beth nodded. "She didn't have time to grow the size she needed to be."

"Is that why she died?" Eli asked, lifting his eyes to look at Beth instead of the baby.

Beth gave him a small smile and she reached a hand out, gently touching his cheek. "Sometimes, God helps make a baby and He realizes that He would much rather have it for Himself. He thought Ruby was so wonderful, He wanted to take her back."

That made Eli frown. "But she was ours."

More tears gathered in Beth's eyes and Daryl rested a hand on top of Eli's head.

"She'll always be ours," Daryl was the one to speak now and Eli started crying then and Beth started crying again, as well, and Daryl sat down next to Beth on the bed and brought Eli onto his lap, but he didn't cry, too.

His family needed him to be strong for them right now.

…

Beth wasn't able to get out of bed and Daryl realized that he wasn't able to do it so Aaron came up into the tree-house to take Ruby, Beth crying and kissing her head and Eli kissing her head as well and Daryl held the tiny, still baby in his arms for the first and last time, but he still would not cry. He bit down on the inside of his cheek as he handed Ruby to Aaron and the man gently wrapped her in a small blanket they had had for when she was supposed to be born three months from then.

Behind the barn, Aaron put Ruby in the box and then gently laid the box in the hole and Spencer began filling in the dirt. Beth stayed up in the tree-house, not allowed to leave their bed – Daryl's orders – and Eli was probably too big for it, but Daryl hoisted him up and held him in his arms. Everyone else was silent and the only sound was the shovel stabbing the dirt and the clumps of earth hitting the box.

When they had buried Mulligan, Beth had sang a song, but no one sang today. He heard a sniffle and Daryl glanced over to see that Anna, standing next to him, was trying so hard to keep from crying. Holding Eli with one arm, Daryl reached over and put a hand on her shoulder. And it was as if his touch caused her to crumble. He pulled her towards him and Anna wept against his chest, into his coat. He heard Eli sniffle in his ear and looking, he saw Rosita was crying now, too, and Spencer and Aaron's eyes were wet.

Once the hole was filled and the cross had been placed at the head of the grave, Daryl squeezed his arm around Anna and then hugged Eli with both of his arms, holding the boy tight for a moment. He kissed him on the head.

"I wan' you to stay with Anna," he said. "And you be good for her."

Eli nodded and didn't even ask Daryl where he was going like he usually did. Daryl bent down and set him on his feet and Anna immediately took hold of Eli's hand.

Without a word or another look at any of them, Daryl turned. He went into the barn, collecting his crossbow, and he then headed towards the door in their fence. He didn't know where he was going or what he was doing. All he knew was he couldn't breathe and he had to go walk. He had to get away from everyone right now. Even Beth. And he hated himself for thinking that, but he couldn't help it.

He just needed a minute to breathe.

Daryl only paid half-attention to where he was walking. He passed a dead walker lying in the snow and he knew that it was probably from when Rosita and Beth had come out a few days ago to try and find some watercress.

He made sure he didn't go too far. He didn't want to. He had to get back home before nightfall. He couldn't leave Beth alone all day. She needed him and he wasn't the kind of man to just stay away; not from her. Daryl knew he had changed plenty over all of these years with Beth and he wasn't the sort to just run and hide when things got too tough. But he didn't think there was anything wrong with grieving privately for a little bit before he put on a tough face as Beth crumbled in his arms.

Beth was the toughest person he knew, but right now, he had to be the tough one.

Not right this second though. Right this second, he had to sit down on this tree trunk after shoving most of the snow away and with his arms on his knees, he bowed his head and closed his eyes. After that, it didn't take a long for the tears to come.

Daryl guessed they had this coming. Compared to how things could go – and have gone for them in the past – everything had been pretty easy for them. They had houses to keep them warm and fences to keep them safe and food to keep their stomachs full. They worked their asses off every day to keep their home going, but their hard work had actually given them a life worth living on this mountain.

He thought of Ruby. He wondered if she would have grown to look like Eli with his looks, but Beth's eyes or would she had been a little mini-Beth, running around? What would her personality have been? Would she have been a little troublemaker like Aiden? Adventurous like Eli? Or shy like Bee? What would her skill had been? He was teaching all of the kids how to track and hunt and dress animals. Bee was already learning how to thread a needle and Anna was starting to teach Aiden how to care for the animals in the barn and every day in the spring and summer, Eli was with Beth in the garden and woods, learning about plants and crops and the natural medicines they could make from both. What would Ruby have wanted to learn?

He lifted his hands, digging his elbows into his knees, and pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes, but that didn't stop the tears.

He heard steps approaching, but Daryl didn't lift his head. The steps were too even; trying to be quiet and he knew it wasn't a walker. He felt something nudge at his leg and he dropped his hands to see that it was Lily, sniffing at his boot. When she decided that he was alright, she stood up straight and looked away, her ears standing at full attention and her body the same; appointing herself as lookout.

And then Aaron stepped up to the trunk and after brushing snow away, he sat down next to Daryl. Daryl waited for him to say something, but Aaron remained silent. Daryl didn't know how the man knew that that was exactly what Daryl needed. He was never the guy to talk about his thoughts or feelings and he wasn't going to start now. He was just going to sit there and try and get himself together before he stood up and returned to Beth.

Daryl knew that it was way too cold for them to be out here and he shouldn't make Aaron sit out here with him when they could be sitting in front of the fire and Daryl shouldn't stay out here and leave Beth in bed, wondering where he was. It was too damn cold and he wondered when the snow would melt. Winter seemed to be lasting longer every year than the last.

And then, he thought of Ruby, wrapped in a blanket, buried in the cold ground and tears started stinging his eyes again. Aaron reached out and put a gentle hand on Daryl's back and the tears started streaming out again.

…

Later that day, Daryl carefully lifted Beth into his arms and carried her across their tree-house to the steel tub they had. As he closed the curtain around them and helped her get out of her pajamas, Rosita came up to strip the bed. They never wasted cloth, but there was blood staining the sheet and even if they washed it, there would always be the stain. Daryl had told Rosita to burn it.

Beth moved slowly and Daryl took her clothes from her and now naked, Beth lowered herself into the steel tub filled with the warm snow water Daryl had collected, filling buckets and melting and heating over the stove. She let out a sigh as she settled in the water and it swept over her.

"Feel good?" He asked her, setting her clothes aside, and Beth nodded.

He knelt down beside the tub and taking the washcloth and a bar of soup, he lathered the cloth and then began to gently wash her body.

"You don't have to do that," Beth told him softly, watching him.

"Yeah, I do," he responded, just as softly, and Beth fell quiet as he slowly washed her with great care.

They made their own soaps from the fat of the animals Daryl hunted and Beth added flowers to it to give the bars pleasant scents. This one smelled like Lily of the Valley.

Daryl moved the sudsy washcloth slowly over her body, wanting to get every inch of her body lathered. And when his hand dipped below the water and began washing the front of her body, his head stilled over her middle, and Beth lifted her eyes to look at him. He stared down at his hand beneath the water and slowly, Beth slid her hand to rest over his. Daryl exhaled a shaky breath and Beth exhaled one as well. He then leaned into her and rested his forehead against her temple and both of them closed their eyes.

…

* * *

 **Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to review. I honestly have no idea how long this story is going to be.  
**


	29. School

**It was a long, hard Winter, but we all made it through. Some more of their daily life during the cold months and then I am so flipping excited to write the next chapter. It will be the solo-Anna chapter that many of you have also been excited for. I can't wait to write it. I hope you like this chapter in the meantime. A little bit of focus on the kids and Aaron in this one. PS - I love my Spencer so much more than I ever could with show! Spencer.**

* * *

…

 **Chapter Twenty-nine.** School.

For four days afterwards, Beth didn't really leave the tree-house. She either stayed in bed or she was at her desk, writing in her journal. No one bothered her. They had no reason to. They gave her the space to grieve and to be alone with her thoughts.

Each morning, Daryl and Eli would come into the cabin for breakfast – eggs every morning because Aaron could make delicious fried eggs and Rosita could make scrambled eggs, but only Beth knew how to make corn cakes and they were running low on jams, but no one dared even think about going to ask Beth to help them in the kitchen. They were all adults and they could take care of themselves.

After breakfast, they all went about their jobs – scavenging and hunting in the woods and sewing and melting snow so clothes could be washed inside and caring for the animals – and then, when it got too dark to see in front of them, Daryl and Eli headed upstairs into their tree-house as everyone else went into the cabin for the night. They all missed Beth's cooking – terribly – but they wouldn't dare say anything. Aaron and Spencer could be creative in the kitchen enough to keep them all fed even though they all missed fresh bread and goat cheese and fresh pasta and the thick stews Beth always made during the winter.

But on the fifth day, Eli ran through the back door into the kitchen and behind him, Beth came in. She gave them all a small smile and Rosita came to her, hugging her. The two women stood there for a long moment, clasping one another tightly, and Rosita whispered something in Beth's ear that made Beth sniffle and laugh softly.

Daryl came in after them and stood in the doorway, watching the scene, and when their hug broke apart, Beth looked at him from over her shoulder and gave him a smile; one he returned in that slight way of his.

Beth took a deep breath and looked to everyone. "Who's hungry?" She asked.

"God, yes," Spencer immediately answered.

Beth laughed softly and went to the shelves they had on the wall next to the window. She paused though when she looked over the jars. She then turned and looked at them all with a slight furrowed brow.

"What have you guys been eating?" She asked because the levels in the jars – of her spices and flours and syrups and crushed flower petals – were the same as they had been the last time she had cooked something in the kitchen.

"Eggs," Aaron and Rosita said at the same time.

Beth let out another slight laugh. "Let's have some corn cakes then," she said, taking down the jar of ground corn flour.

"Thank God," Spencer said. "With honey?" He asked and Rosita pinched his arm.

"Yes," Beth smiled easily. "With honey."

That morning, for breakfast, they had honey and lavender corn cakes and Beth brought the jar of their maple syrup to the table so they could use that, too, if they wanted. She had Aaron fry eggs and Beth warmed a pot of milk for the children so they could have hot chocolate and then she boiled a kettle of water for cups of wintergreen tea for everyone else.

It was a big breakfast and everyone ate every morsel put in front of them and they couldn't remember the last time they had had a more delicious breakfast.

"What are you going to do today?" Daryl asked Beth as they all finished up.

"I'm going to start on making dinner, and I'm going to make a loaf of bread and more jams, and I want to start up lessons for the kids again," Beth said.

"What's for dinner?" Spencer asked eagerly.

"I'm thinking just a thick mushroom, scallion and pepper soup," Beth answered and then turned her head towards Daryl when he leaned over in his chair, closer to her.

"Take it a lil' easy today, a'right?" He said to her in a quiet voice, his hand on the outside of her thigh, giving it a gentle squeeze.

Beth gave him a small smile and she covered his hand with hers, giving it a gentle squeeze in return. "I want to stay busy," she whispered.

Daryl looked at her for another long moment and then squeezed her thigh again before leaning back in his chair. "If you wan', I can try and hunt up a rabbit. Maybe I can take Lily out with me," Daryl said, thinking out loud.

"I'll come, too," Aaron volunteered and Daryl gave him a slight nod in agreement.

"It'd go great with the soup," Beth smiled. "But don't drive yourself crazy, trying to get one. The soup will be great without it, too."

Daryl just smirked; as if there was no way he wouldn't be able to bring a rabbit back with him whether he was looking for one or not.

After they were all done eating, they helped clean the table and Spencer volunteered to wash the dishes and everyone broke up to go off about their own jobs for the day.

Anna went outside, heading to the barn, as always, and Rosita had plenty of mending to do and she went to the couch in the living room, grabbing her sewing basket and the pile of shirts and pants that needed her attention. Bee went after her and Rosita could hand her the needle and the thread so the little girl could practice. Eli went down into the root cellar to help Beth get the jar of mushrooms and the jar of scallions she needed for dinner and Aiden went to the room under the stairs that they now used for storage more than anything and brought back the few schoolbooks they used for their lessons.

After Mulligan's death, Aaron moved into his bedroom – the bedroom that had been first given to Daryl and Beth when they had first arrived – and with the two bedrooms upstairs, Aiden took one and Anna and Bee continued sharing the other.

When the dishes were washed and drying in their rack on the counter, Spencer grabbed his coat and headed outside to help Anna in the barn and the kids came back to the kitchen table, all taking their seats and each kid had their own spiral notebook and pencil and Beth opened Bee's to the page they had left off on. She wrote down her name: BEATRICE MONROE and Bee began to practice copying it in her slightly shaky handwriting. Beth then took one of the books and flipping through it, she found a poem and handed it to Aiden.

He exhaled a breath and then began reading. He actually hated reading out loud.

"How dot the little crocodile

Improve his shining tail,

And pour the waters of the Nile

On every golden scale."

For the next stanza, Aiden handed the book across the table to Eli so he could read practice with his reading, too.

"How cheerfully he seems to grin,

How neatly spreads his claws,

And welcomes little fishes in

With gently smiling jaws."

Beth stood at the counter, mixing milk and flour together, forming a thick paste for the stew, stirring and adding sprinkles of salt and pepper and listening to them.

"Mama?" Eli spoke once the poem was finished.

"Hmmmm?"

"In one of our other books, they said crocodiles were endangered," Eli said. "Do you think they're still endangered?" He asked.

Beth smiled a little as she added the mushrooms and cut the scallions up into bits before adding them as well. She added a dash more of pepper and then stirred it all up. She would simmer it over the flames for the next ten hours or so and she turned, carrying the heavy iron pot to the fireplace in the living room, hanging it on the hook and she stirred it once more before placing the lid over it.

"I don't think there's anything endangered any more, sweetie," Beth said, coming back into the kitchen, sitting for a moment in the chair next to Aiden. "Except for us."

Eli nodded as if that was the answer he had been expecting and Beth took the book, scanning through the pages as she searched for another poem for them to read.

"So, people have always been terrible, huh?" Aiden asked.

Beth looked at him. "Of course not," she said. "Why would you think that?"

Aiden shrugged. "Killing off whatever the hell they want just because they think they're more powerful."

"Aiden," Rosita spoke up from the living room and he looked towards his mom, she giving him a raised eyebrow. "Language."

"Sorry," Aiden said with a noticeable flush on his neck. He looked back to Beth. "Killing and taking. Almost killing off all sorts of animals just because they want to."

Beth paused for a moment. "You know people are given a choice. Whether to be good or bad. There _are_ bad people, but there are good people, too. We're good. And we're going to be remembered for being good."

Aiden looked down to the table. "And when you are all gone, what if me, Eli and Bee decide that we want to be bad people instead?"

Beth was quiet for a moment, looking at him. "Do you want to be bad?" She asked.

She glanced to Rosita and Rosita had stopped sewing, her head up and her eyes focused on her son as Aiden continued looking down at the table.

He shrugged. "I heard mom and dad talking and they didn't think I was around to hear. About that guy from up North. Negan," Aiden said in a soft voice. "He's a bad guy and it sounds like he has a ton of stuff anyway."

"We have a ton of stuff, too," Eli frowned.

Rosita set her sewing aside and came to the table, crouching down on Aiden's other side. "Aiden," she said his name softly. He moved his eyes to glance at his mom before looking back down to the table. "Negan didn't earn any of what he has. He scared people and took what he wanted. What we have, we earned every single thing and that's the way it should be. It _has_ to be."

"And what do I say?" Beth asked him; asked all of them.

"Good people are rewarded for being good when we die," Bee was the one to recite.

Rosita smiled and leaned in, kissing her daughter's cheek.

"Yeah, Aiden," Eli spoke up. "We're all gonna be in Heaven and you gotta be, too. If not, we're gonna be waiting for you and you're not gonna be able to come in."

That got Aiden to smile a little and Rosita kissed his cheek as well before she stood up and returned to the living room and her sewing.

" _Going_ ," Beth corrected Eli but with a smile. "Not gonna." She rubbed a hand on Aiden's back and he looked at her, giving her a small smile. She smiled back. "Well, since we've already tackled reading and philosophy this morning, how about math?"

Math was their favorite and both boys grinned as Beth picked up the math flashcards and handed them to Aiden. The adults constantly told them that they had to learn and be good at math if they wanted to keep this place going. They had to be able to figure out how much food they had to grow and store and how much food would be able to keep them all fed and alive during the cold months of winter.

Eli and Aiden always had contests with each other and who could get the most problems right when they were quizzed by the other.

"Quiz each other," she said. "And Bee, finish filling in the rest of the page and then the boys can quiz you, too, with your math problems," she told the girl as she stood up and Bee beamed in reply.

Beth sat for a moment, listening as Aiden flipped through the cards, asking Eli multiplication problems and Eli working them out in his notebook before giving his answer, and she then stood up. She walked around the table, giving each child a kiss on their head, before returning to the counter, beginning preparations to make the loaf of bread they would have for dinner that evening.

…

She heard the creaking of the ladder and then a moment later, she heard the door in the floor open and Daryl pull himself up into the tree-house. Beth was lying on the bed and she turned her head so she could look at him.

"What are you doing up here?" She asked him as he came towards the bed.

He stopped to take off his boots and his coat and Beth pulled the quilts back so he could climb into bed with her. She shivered slightly as he brought in some of the cold with him, but then he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close into his body and she didn't feel cold then.

"You don't wan' my company?" He asked, his chest rumbling beneath her ear.

Beth smiled. "I didn't say that. I just thought you and Anna were in the barn and I wasn't expecting you this soon."

"Girl kept yawnin' and I told her that we've worked long enough for the day," Daryl said, turning his head towards the stove. Beth had loaded it with plenty of wood and the air was warm and had the faintest scent of sweet pine. "And then she and Aaron started a game of chess."

"Uh-oh," Beth laughed a little and Daryl smiled against her head.

They didn't have television anymore, but they had their books and records.

And chess.

Daryl had taught Beth how to play all of those years ago – Merle having taught him – and Aaron already knew how to play so between them, they taught everyone else. Anna had picked up on it quickly and over the years, she became a fierce competitor and when she played Aaron, their games could last for hours – each taking their time before making each calculated move. Daryl didn't mind playing her, but he sometimes found that he didn't have the patience – which was weird for him because he normally was the most patient when it came to his hunting.

"Did you wanna be alone?" Daryl then asked her quietly.

"No," Beth shook her head against his chest. "I like that you're here. I was just thinking," she said, burrowing closer to him and his arms tightened.

He didn't ask her what she was thinking about. Only an idiot wouldn't know.

"Are you feelin' a'right?" He asked after a minute of passing quiet. "I mean, your body. Your body feelin' a'right?"

Beth nodded. "It just feels empty," she whispered and he had no idea what to say to that. "I wonder if I'll ever be able to have another one."

Daryl took a second to think that over. "You wanna have another one?" He asked.

Beth moved then; just enough for her face to look into his. "You think I'm crazy."

"I didn' say that," Daryl instantly denied.

"Everyone will think I am," she pointed out and he frowned.

"No one 'll think that," he said and she smiled as if she didn't believe him.

"I don't know if I want another one," she then said, rolling onto her back and looking up towards the ceiling. Daryl turned towards her, lying on his side, and his arm gently laid across her stomach. Her fingers curled around it; as if he was a seatbelt and she was bracing herself for impact. "I'd be too terrified and what if I lost it again? I don't know if I'd be able to handle that."

Daryl stayed silent; silently agreeing with everything she said.

He didn't know what they would do if they got pregnant again and the baby didn't make it. It was scary as hell and building a little box for his baby girl to be buried in was one of the hardest things Daryl had ever had to do.

He wasn't looking to do it again.

"Spring's coming," Beth then said softly, changing the subject, looking at him.

"Yeah." He knew where her mind was going now. "She won't be gone forever."

"We hope," Beth added.

"She won't be," Daryl said, feeling confident about it for some reason even though there was no reason why he should be. "This is her home. She'll go out there and look and won't find anythin' and she'll come back."

"And what if she does find something? Someone?" Beth looked at him.

Daryl shrugged. "If she brings 'im back here, me, Spencer and Aaron will interrogate the hell out of 'im." He said it with the utmost seriousness and it made Beth laugh.

She turned towards him again and nestled against his chest, tucking her head beneath his chin and Daryl's arms wound around her once more.

"I jus' wan' her to be happy," he then said, his lips to her hair.

"Me, too," Beth agreed. "And I understand why she wants to leave. I just wish she could be happy here without having to go somewhere else to find it."

"She ain't leavin' tomorrow," Daryl felt the need to remind her. "We've got sheep and goats that are goin' to be givin' birth soon and then, Anna's got the sheep to shear."

Beth nodded and stayed quiet.

"Beth, I can't make her stay if she doesn' want to," he said quietly.

"I know," came her reply, soft against the skin of his throat. "She's just been with us for so long. Since she was a little girl. I don't know what we'll do without her."

Her words were the same thoughts Daryl had been having ever since he, Aaron and Anna had that conversation in the barn and he allowed to let her leave in the Spring.

He couldn't make her stay. He knew that and he told himself that over and over again. And all he could do was hope that she would come back to them again.

…

Aaron wasn't sure why, but when his eyes opened, the bedroom was still dark, growing grayer with the morning dawn, and he felt wide awake.

He laid there for a few minutes, listening to the quiet of the house, and he thought of what his jobs were that day. He and Spencer had to chop more wood for the fires. In the summer, it was easy and they only needed enough wood to light the stove in the kitchen so Beth could cook, but in the winter, they had fires in all of the fireplaces nearly burning at all hours of the day and night. They didn't like chopping down trees unless they absolutely had to. Even though they wouldn't be able to cut down every tree in these mountains even if they tried, it never sat right with any of them.

Instead, they developed the habit of ripping apart the homes. The buildings down the mountain in town were all nearly completely demolished, their wood and plaster and insulation being used for their warmth. And there were houses in these mountains that they were beginning to tear down, too.

It was a long process and took them hours, but every job they did was necessary and gathering wood for their fires was no exception.

Aaron was eager for Spring. This had been a hard Winter on all of them and he liked when the snow began to melt and the ice cracked and broke apart in the creek and there were fish again and the animals in the barn gave birth to their little ones. The only thing he wasn't eager for when the warmer weather got here though was that Anna would be leaving.

None of them were wanting to think about it and no one definitely wanted to talk about it. They still couldn't believe that Anna was going to leave. They hadn't even told the kids yet and Aaron could just imagine how difficult that conversation was going to go when they finally did.

Aaron finally pulled himself out of bed, immediately tugging on his sweater. The fire had died down to just a few glowing orange embers, but he wasn't going to build it up. He wasn't going to be in here again until he went to bed that night.

He tugged on his jeans and a thick pair of socks and after tying his boots tightly, he put on his coat and headed out the other door in the bedroom that led outside and to the outhouse.

It could be sometimes damn near silent up here in the mountains; especially in the winter. And if a person wasn't used to it, it could be almost jarring. Aaron was more than used to it now though and sometimes, he now craved it. Sometimes, he tried to wake up before anyone else just so he could stand out in their yard and listen and hear absolutely nothing.

Eric would have loved it up here. When they had both worked in DC and lived in Virginia, Eric's one complaint - always - was the constant noise that seemed to always surround them.

But this morning, he did hear something. The tiniest whimper and a creak of wood.

He left the outhouse and went into the kitchen, pausing to wash his hands with the bar of soap. Lily was at her usual place, sleeping in front of the stove. Buck stayed with Daryl, Beth and Eli in the tree-house and Spitz slept upstairs, in the hall between the two bedrooms where the kids slept.

Lily lifted her head when she heard another whimper and her ears perked up and Aaron followed her eyes, looking up to the ceiling. More creaks of wood and then Rosita was coming down the stairs with Bee in her arms, the girl's arms wrapped tight around her mama's neck and her face buried in her neck.

"What is it?" Aaron asked.

"It's her ear again," Rosita said, rubbing Bee's back.

Aaron couldn't help but frown. This was Bee's third ear infection this Winter.

"Do you mind holding her?" Rosita asked.

Aaron didn't even justify that with an answer. He stepped to her and Bee was transferred from Rosita's arms into his and Bee didn't protest. She simply wrapped her arms around his neck and whimpered miserably. Now he was the one to rub Bee's back as he looked to Rosita, almost asking her if she needed him to get Beth. But he stopped when he saw Rosita already moving around the kitchen, getting together what she needed.

With Bee's first and second ear infection, Beth had read in one of her books what they could do to help and Rosita had memorized the steps that had to be taken.

Aaron walked around in circles around the table, trying to give the little girl some comfort as he watched Rosita out of the corner of his eye.

Rosita heated up one cup of salt in a pan over the stove for a few minutes and once it was hot. she then placed it into a cloth, gathering the ends and tying them in a knot.

"Come on, little Bee," Aaron said and brought her to the couch where he gently laid her down on her left side and then gently brushed hair back from her right ear.

Rosita waited a moment for the salt to not be so unbearably hot before she knelt down next to the couch and gently laid the cloth down on the infected ear. Bee let out one tiny whimper and then she was quiet again.

Aaron turned when he heard the back door open and Beth entered. She stopped though when she saw Bee on the couch and Rosita holding a cloth to her ear.

"Again?" She asked, coming to them.

"It was one cup of salt, right?" Rosita asked, still holding the cloth to Bee's ear and turning her head to look at Beth from over her shoulder.

Beth nodded and moved in closer and Rosita moved the cloth so Beth could look at it for herself. Beth smiled and brushed Bee's cheek affectionately. Aaron stood up to toss more wood into the hearth into the fireplace next to the couch.

"Hey, Bee," Beth said gently. "Since you're sick, you get to pick what we have for breakfast this morning."

"Kit-Kat," Bee didn't even hesitate before answering.

Beth smiled and Rosita rolled her eyes and Aaron snickered.

"You've created a monster," Aaron told Rosita.

"I had no idea that Spencer's sweet tooth would be carried in his DNA," Rosita said. "If I knew that, I never would have procreated with him."

" _That_ would have been your reason for not procreating with him?" Aaron asked.

"I heard that, Aaron!" Spencer called out from his and Rosita's bedroom as he got himself dressed.

Beth and Rosita both laughed this time and Bee smiled, too, as if she understood the joke.

"Daryl sometimes eats raw squirrel," Beth said. "I'm actually waiting for Eli to pick up that habit."

Rosita smiled as she looked up to Aaron. "It seems like you're probably the best male specimen around to procreate with. Are you _sure_ you're gay?" She asked him and he cracked a grin at her and she grinned back and Beth laughed again.

"Hey!" They could all hear Spencer exclaim from the bedroom and they laughed some more.

"What's goin' on in here?" Daryl asked as he, Eli and Buck came through the back door, Buck going to greet Lily and Eli hurrying to the couch once he saw that they were all gathered around Bee.

"Tormenting Spencer. Want to join in?" Aaron asked with a grin.

"Always," Daryl smirked back.

...

* * *

 **Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to review!**


	30. Anna

**I hope you like this chapter. I'm a bit nervous about it, to be honest. The next chapter will go back to Beth and Daryl. I think I have been focusing too much attention on the other characters lately and this is still a Beth and Daryl story and I think it's obvious you want me to get back to them. I have Anna around sixteen and just so you know, I have a newfound massive crush on DJ Cotrona - for future reference ;)**

* * *

…

 **Chapter Thirty.** Anna. **  
**

 _"_ _Don't follow the road."_

 _"_ _If you see someone, hide from them. Watch them before you decide if you want them to see you."_

 _"_ _Don't take your knife off for anything."_

 _"_ _Remember. Male or female. It will hurt if you kick them between the legs."_

 _"_ DON'T _go into any community until you watch them for a while."_

 _"_ _You find yourself an exit strategy immediately if you do go into one."_

 _"_ DON'T _go North."_

It was agreed that Spitz would come with her. They didn't want her to leave at all, but since she was set on doing so, they at least wanted her to have some protection and Anna couldn't find a single thing wrong with having a wolf at her side.

Daryl had been worried that Lily and her pups would leave. They were wild animals, after all, and they were not meant to be domesticated. But after feeding them and giving them a warm place to sleep and helping Lily deliver the pups, it seemed as if that was what exactly happened to them. The wolves showed fierce love and loyalty to those who lived within the fenced in yard.

And it was as if Spitz knew that he was coming with her because he nuzzled Lily and Buck – as if the wolves were saying goodbye to one another – and then he waited at the fence for Anna to say her own goodbyes. So many hugs and tears and promises that she'd be safe and she'd come back – _of course_ she'd come back – and Beth pushed one more container of food into her hands. The pack on her back was already filled with food, but Anna didn't refuse this offering.

No one in their right mind would ever turn down Beth's corn cakes.

And then, she and Spitz were off – heading off into the woods. Anna only turned back once and just as she had guessed, Daryl was watching her. She gave him a wave and for a brief moment, she felt a seize in her chest and she nearly ran back to him. She had been with him and the others for ten years now. They were her family in every sense of the word and she loved them as much as they loved her and a part of her _was_ scared to be without them.

She knew what they all thought. They thought she was making a huge mistake, leaving these mountains and heading towards some place even she didn't know about. They seemed to understand her reason for wanting to leave, but none of them agreed with the reason. So she was lonely. So what? Everyone got lonely. And Anna understood that, as well. But maybe she wanted to try and not be lonely anymore.

She stood for a moment, after she waved, looking back at Daryl and then, Daryl lifted his hand from the crossbow in his arms and she smiled at him. She was too far away now to see it clearly, but she liked to imagine that he was smiling back at her.

"Come on, Spitz," Anna said and patted her thigh lightly and she and wolf kept walking further away from their own and she felt Daryl watching her the entire time. She knew that he would until he couldn't see her anymore.

…

They followed the creek for a while and the sun slowly moving across the sky above their heads and even though Anna knew they didn't want her to, she headed North. Well, Northwest to be specific. She was thinking she'd head up towards Kentucky or even a state beyond that. She just knew that she wanted to stick to the Appalachian Mountains and maybe there would be other people there like their family who saw how precious these mountains could be for supplies and survival.

Anna stopped when the sun had moved a little past of being directly overhead her head and she pulled her pack down, sitting down on the ground. Spitz nosed at the pack eagerly and she laughed softly, gently pushing his snout away as she opened it up to decide what she wanted to eat for lunch.

Her pack was filled with supplies. A change of clothes and a pair of socks. An extra knife carved from moose antlers. A canteen of water. Containers of different foods Beth had prepared for her. A blanket was tied to the bottom of her bag and a collapsible bucket and pot to cook in where hanging on the outside.

Anna took out the container of corn cakes and took only one before putting it back into her bag for later. She had no idea what she would find out here. She had no problem eating plants and dandelions if that was what she had to do. That's why she wanted to make Beth's corn cakes last as long as she possibly could.

She also took out some strips of cinnamon bark and after giving Spitz a little bit of the corn cake, the wolf went off in search of something for himself to eat and Anna sat, watching the water rush in the creek as she ate her lunch.

She realized that this was the first time in ten years that she had been by herself. Truly alone. Someone had always been with her – whether it was Beth as she helped pick clover and mushrooms or Daryl as they practiced tracking or Aiden as they collected acorns together.

She hadn't thought of them in years. She could honestly hardly remember their faces, but Anna ate her corn cake and bark and thought of her parents. Her mom and baby sister had gotten sick and had died almost as soon as the whole thing started. And she didn't know what happened, but she was pretty sure her dad had put them down. And then she and her dad had run away from the chaos of their neighborhood and had found shelter for a while in a gas station. But walkers came and her dad fought them off, but he had been bitten in the meantime.

Anna remembered him kneeling in front of her and telling her that he loved her so much. And then he had pushed her into the supply closet and told her not to come out. Anna still remembered the way she had jumped when she heard the gunshot.

She didn't know how much time had passed and she ate stale Cheetos and warm cans of Mountain Dew, but then Rosita, Spencer and Aaron had found her and they had a goat and they took her back to Daryl and Beth's home.

And since that night when Beth gave her a bit of chocolate and a bowl potato and carrot stew for dinner, Anna found a home and a family and they loved her fiercely.

Anna exhaled a deep breath and wiped at her cheeks as tears stung her eyes.

She could do this. She _had_ to do this. And she would come back before winter set in. She would see all of them again. This wasn't forever. She just wanted to go out and be on her own and find someone who could maybe be a friend to her. She was in such an awkward place, all on her own. There were the adults – Daryl, Beth, Aaron, Rosita and Spencer – and then there were the children – Aiden, Bee and Eli – and she didn't fit into either category.

She wanted to fit in somewhere.

Spitz came back and she noticed a bit of stained blood around his jaws.

"You ready?" She asked him as she stood up and Spitz wagged his tail in agreement.

Once again, they were off.

…

She hadn't seen a walker or person in days. Two weeks to be exact. She counted the days with notches on a stick she kept. Not that she wanted to see a walker, but she had hoped that she would have seen at least signs of another person nearby. But so far, nothing. Nothing but nature and animals and she knew it wasn't true, but she couldn't help but wonder if she and her family were the only ones left.

She gathered berries and dandelions and clover in her bucket and then adding a bit of water and salt that Beth had given her, she cooked soups in her pot and sat at the small fire she built every night, Spitz going off and killing something she didn't see, eating his own dinner. He sometimes dove for fish in the creek and they shared their feast together.

Not starving and feeling as if she was doing pretty well for hardly ever being on her own before, Anna just wished she could find someone else.

She and Spitz had found a ramshackle shack that she had slept in for the night and as she stepped out onto the front porch at dawn, she looked at the sky through the trees, a slight frown weighing down her lips.

 _Red sky at morning; sailor take warning_.

The sky was on fire with reds and oranges and Anna knew that a storm was coming.

They couldn't stay here. The shack had been good enough to sleep in, but she doubted that the shack would handle any kind of storm.

"We have to move, Spitz," Anna said as she hurried inside to get her pack.

The wolf stuck close to her side as if he sensed danger coming. She wished she could warn her family; if they were going to get hit with the same storm. But Anna knew that Daryl would wake up and see the red sky and they were prepared for anything and everything; including storms that could possibly be nasty.

As they walked along at a hurried pace, Anna tried to keep her eyes open. Mulligan told her that there were caves all over these mountains. People were always coming to the Appalachians – daredevil cave divers – and that was all Anna needed right now. Just a cave for her and Spitz to hide in until the storm passed – however long that was. Especially Spitz. She knew her wolf wasn't fond of storms. Too much noise for him and he barked at thunder and she wanted to keep him as calm as she could.

She was glad her family had made her take Spitz. She wasn't _completely_ alone with the wolf at her side and though Daryl had been teaching her since she was a little girl on how to take care of herself, it still made her feel safer with a wolf at her side.

If Spitz was wondering where they were going, he didn't act like it. Each night, when they stopped walking and set up camp – usually in some shack of a place or even in hollow, rotting tree trunks on the ground – he just sniffed the area and then laid down next to Anna and didn't leave her side until morning.

They kept walking Northwest and Anna wished that she could find at least one road – though her family wanted her nowhere near them – just so she could see a sign and get an idea of where on earth she was. She remembered what Mulligan had said more than once. These mountains stretch on forever and though she knew that wasn't necessarily true, it certainly felt like that now each day as she walked.

Thinking about Mulligan, still, it made her chest seize until she felt she couldn't breathe. She wished he was here with her right now. He would be able to find them shelter within a second and he would have been the only one to understand why she felt the need that she _had_ to leave their home for the summer.

The wind began to pick up and Anna had put her hair into a braid the day before, but the wind whipped around her and pulled blonde strands loose, flying around her head. Still, she couldn't see anything that would be suitable as shelter from the storm. She began running and Spitz began running, too, pulling ahead.

"Spitz!" She called to the wolf over the wind.

There. Finally something.

It looked like a cave and Anna ran towards it. But as she got closer, her stomach sank. There was a closed gate over the entrance, secured with a heavy chain and lock. Anna ran towards it and pulled on it; as if it would open despite being locked. She looked around. There were faded signs and two tracks on the ground leading into the cave that were nearly covered entirely with leaves and the forest floor, having slowly crept over them for the past few years.

She had never seen one before, but Anna was fairly certain that this was a coalmine.

She tugged on the gate one more time, but it still remained chained shut; as if that would change just with a few tugs. The ground then shook with a rumble of thunder and Spitz let out a howl.

"Come on, Spitz," Anna said and then hurried towards the trailer she saw nearby.

It had probably been some sort of office when the mine had been operational and being in a trailer during a storm wasn't ideal, but it was better than being out like this. Right now, any shelter was better than no shelter.

Clambering up the metal steps, Anna breathed with relief when the doorknob twisted easily in her hand. She didn't even look around. She wanted only one thing.

"Spitz," she ordered when she saw the wolf at the gate, sniffing as if he could smell something inside, but when he heard her, the wolf came running into the trailer after her and she shut the door firmly in its frame.

She then hurried to the tiny closet that had once served as a bathroom and she shoved the curtain aside to the tiny stall of a shower. She took off her pack and then she sat on the floor of the shower and Spitz followed. It was a too-tight fit and they couldn't fit, but Anna didn't care. She hugged her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around Spitz's thick neck as he sat in front of her and she clenched her eyes, burying her face in the wolf's fur. The wind sounded like a siren and she prayed that this trailer held.

…

It felt like it was hours later. Anna couldn't feel her legs and the rain outside had softened to a light pitter-patter on the trailer's roof. And for the first time in what felt like hours, Anna breathed.

Releasing Spitz from her hold, and using the shower wall behind her for support, Anna began slowly pushing herself up to her feet again. Her legs were stiff and she leaned there for a moment, trying to get feeling back into her limbs. Spitz trotted out of the bathroom and she knew that he probably had to go to the bathroom. She did, too, and she'd rather go outside than use the toilet in here.

Finally feeling her legs, Anna stepped from the bathroom and Spitz was practically dancing in front of the door. She smiled and opened it for him and he darted outside. She was about to follow him, but now without the threat of a storm, she finally took a moment to look around the trailer. There might be something to take back with her to the family that they would find useful.

Since this was an office though, Anna's not entirely sure what she was hoping to find. There are stacks of paper on a desk – dusty and dirty with the years – and there didn't seem to be too much of anything else. Nonetheless, she opened the desk drawers – dried out pens, rubber band, thumb tacks, a rubber stamp with a pad of ink that had so long ago dried out.

Anna was just about to step towards the door and go outside when she heard it. Spitz was growling, low in his throat, and she felt herself freeze for a moment.

"I know you're in there!" A male voice suddenly shouted to her and she jumped. "Come out right now or I put a bullet between your guard dog's eyes!"

"Shit," Anna swore to herself in a hiss, her fingers curling around the hilt of the blade in the sheath at her hip.

Daryl would be so pissed at her right now. She must have left something outside somewhere to give her presence away. She was furious. Daryl had trained her better than that. And she wanted to find people, but she didn't want them to find her first.

Now, she had just lost the upper hand.

"I've got all day!" The voice spoke again. "Don't know about your wolf though!"

With a deep breath, Anna pushed open the door and stepped out.

Sure enough, there was a man and he was pointing a gun at Spitz's head, the wolf crouched low and showing his teeth at him. The man glanced at her and Anna stared at him with a clenching in her jaw. She didn't know how old he was. Maybe late twenties with short black hair, a scruffy black beard and slightly tanned skin.

She had a knife and he had a gun. This wasn't a fair fight and somehow, if she could get to him and kick him in the balls, it wouldn't matter. He would still shoot Spitz and she could not let that happen.

He smirked then as if he had read her mind. "Brought a knife to a gun fight, doll."

Anna stared at him. "Do you actually have any bullets in that gun?" She asked.

He didn't take his eyes off her as he immediately cocked it, still pointing it right at Spitz's head, between his eyes. "Want to find out?"

She narrowed her eyes at him, but she didn't say a word or move an inch.

"What's your name?" He then asked her.

For a moment, she considered not answering, but she knew it didn't really matter one way or another.

"Anna Mulligan," she said through nearly clenched teeth.

 _Mulligan, keep me brave_ , she said silently to herself.

"What's your name?" She asked him back.

He blinked at her for a moment; as if he had forgotten his own name; as if there hadn't been anyone to ask him that for a long time.

"Matt," he finally answered after another second. "Do you have any food, Anna Mulligan?" He then asked her.

"Depends on whether you're going to shoot my wolf," she replied.

Matt instantly un-cocked the gun and lowered it, hanging it at his side, and Spitz growled again, ready to pounce.

Anna snapped her fingers. "Spitz." She said his name and slowly, very slowly, Spitz walked away from Matt, never turning his back on him, walking backwards towards the trailer and Anna came down the steps to come and stand at his side. "Good boy," she murmured quietly to him, resting a hand on his head between his ears.

Matt looked at her and the wolf at her side and then he shook his head a little with a smirk. "Why not? Seen just about everything else."

…

Matt lived in the coal mine. Not down where the actual coal was dug. With no electricity, the elevator didn't work and there was no reason to go down there anyway. He had been staying in the cave, just past the gate.

"Where did you get the key?" Anna asked him once she watched him unlock the gate and she and Spitz followed him in.

Matt didn't answer. He just jutted his chin out in the direction of the trailer.

Anna took a moment to look around and she couldn't help but frown. "Where's your water?" She asked, looking back to him. "Do you have a rain barrel?"

Matt just blinked at her.

"You need water," she then informed him even though he should have already known that. Human beings needed water. That was true before the world ended.

There is a pack on the ground, leaning up against the cave wall, and he reached in, pulling out a plastic bottle, half-filled with water. He held out towards her, but Anna just frowned at the sight.

"There's a creek nearby," she told him. "I'll get water. You start a fire."

Matt smirked a little and raised an eyebrow at her. She didn't say anything else though and she didn't wait for him to argue with her; which was what he clearly was going to do. Anna wasn't too sure why she was helping him – especially after he pointed a gun at Spitz's head – but it was obvious he didn't have much of anything and she wondered how he had been able to make it for this long. He must have been in some sort of community and Anna wondered why he wasn't there anymore.

After relieving herself behind a tree and filling her bucket with water, Anna headed back towards the mine. She was honestly surprised when she got back and saw that Matt had started a fire – a small one near the entrance of the mine so the smoke had a way of ventilating out and the weak sunlight now trying to push through the trees could provide them light to see as they worked.

They didn't speak as Anna set the water down and then took her pack off. She kneeled down on the ground at the fire and as she unhooked her pan and then looked through her pack to see what she could offer him, Spitz remained standing at her side, never taking his eyes off of Matt as Matt stood on the other side of the fire. She didn't know this man and she still didn't know if he actually had any bullets in that gun of his, but with Spitz at her side, Anna knew she had no reason to feel scared right now.

"That have a name?" Matt asked.

" _His_ name is Spitz," Anna answered and then pulled out a plastic container. She opened the lid and held the container out towards him. Matt leaned in and when he saw what it was, he frowned and then lifted an eyebrow at her. She sighed. "I didn't know you were able to be picky about what you eat," she retorted. Matt slowly reached in and took out a strip of cinnamon tree bark. "It's good and it's safe."

She didn't watch as he took his first hesitant bite, but she noticed that within seconds, it was gone. She didn't comment as he chewed and swallowed quickly. He was obviously starving. She would have to show him everything he could eat outside. She had been eating dandelions and berries every day. He would have to, too, if he wanted to keep surviving.

Instead, she occupied herself with pouring some water into the pot.

"Do you have a grill rack?" She asked, lifting her eyes to him and Matt just blinked at her. "A rack so you can rest the pot over the flames," she further explained.

Where had this man been? It was obvious he had no idea how to survive on his own. And suddenly, Anna was glad that she had found him. Or rather, Matt had found her. It was obvious that he needed her.

"Hold this," she said and handed him the pot. "We have to boil the water so it's safe to drink," she told him because she doubted he knew even that much.

Matt crouched down on the other side of the fire and held the pot over the flames. At least he wasn't arguing with her about that. Anna turned back towards her pack and pulled out a few plastic baggies. Spencer had found boxes of Ziploc bags in a house once during a run – when they had still gone on runs – and he figured they could never have enough storage for food.

The water began to bubble, but Matt kept holding the pot over the flames and as he did, Anna leaned in and began dropping in bits of dandelion, clover and chanterelle mushrooms. She then sprinkled in a bit of salt for more flavor and then with her plastic spoon, she began stirring it all together.

She felt Matt's eyes watching her the entire time.

"How'd you learn how to do this?" He asked her, making sure he kept the pot steady.

Beth's face instantly popped into her mind.

"My mom taught me," Anna answered.

…

* * *

 **We will see Anna and Matt again. I already have Matt's backstory planned out.**

 **Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to review!  
**


	31. Spring

…

 **Chapter Thirty-one.** Spring.

Beth visited Ruby every morning.

After she pulled herself from bed and ran a wet washcloth over her body and took a moment to brush her teeth with baking soda before getting dressed, but before she went into the cabin's kitchen to start making breakfast, Beth would come down from the tree-house and go behind the barn.

"Good morning, baby girl," Beth smiled as she replaced the wilting wildflowers against the cross with ones she had picked that grew in their yard. "Spring is here and we have such a busy day today. It's time to get the dirt in the garden ready and we'll be plowing all day and I wish you could see it. I can just imagine how much you would like watching it. The other kids always love it and they all do their best to help."

She exhaled a shaky breath then as she did every other morning when she talked to her daughter. Sometimes, Beth admitted that she had absolutely no idea what to say. Sometimes, she just sat there and stared at the cross with Ruby's name carved across it and she prayed that she her daddy and her mama had found their granddaughter up in Heaven and were looking after her. Sometimes, she wept.

Hearing steps behind her, Beth didn't look over her shoulder to know who it was. She knew those near-silent footsteps as well as she knew her own. And a moment later, Daryl crouched down next to her.

"Hey, baby girl," he greeted their daughter and Beth closed her eyes, tears slipping down her cheeks and she hurriedly tried to wipe them away, but it didn't matter because more fell and too quickly for her to keep up.

She felt Daryl's warm hand on her back and Beth exhaled a deep breath.

"Don't do that," he then said in a quiet voice.

Beth opened her eyes and turned her head to look at him, question silent in her eyes.

"Don't think you gotta stop cryin' when I'm around you," Daryl said.

She nodded and sniffled and more tears brimmed in her eyes, a couple escaping. She couldn't help but wipe them away again. "I just don't know if I should still be crying," she admitted, moving off of her legs so they didn't fall asleep. She settled on her butt, her legs stretched in front of her.

Daryl settled down next to her. They both were quiet for a moment, staring at Ruby's cross. Around them, the rest of the family was starting to wake up. She heard the animals in the barn – Aaron and Aiden seeing to them as they had done since Anna left them a few weeks earlier. She could hear Rosita coming out of the cabin, telling Spencer that she was heading to the creek to wash the sheets and Bee was saying she was sorry for wetting the bed. Spencer told her that it was no big deal because everyone wet the bed.

"Even Daryl?" Bee asked her dad.

" _Especially_ Daryl," Spencer answered.

Beth actually let out a giggle at that and turned her head, looking at her husband for his reaction. Daryl was frowning with his brow furrowed and it only made her smile and giggle again, and he looked at her, seeing that, and his own lips twitched a little.

"Think I might take Spencer out huntin' today," Daryl mused out loud.

Beth leaned into him and his hand on her back slid around, his arm hugging her. "She'll probably deny it, but I think Rosita will be heartbroken if you make her a widow," she told him softly.

"Then she should 'ave made a better decision in choosin' a husband," Daryl replied.

Beth smiled at that, but it faded as her eyes settled on Ruby's cross again, and as if he could feel the sadness – which had momentarily been forgotten – sweep over her again, Daryl tightened his arm around her and dipping his head down, he pressed his nose to her jaw.

"You and me ain't on a timeline, Beth," he told her quietly. "You can cry every day for the rest of our lives and no one is goin' to say or think anythin' 'bout it. 'specially me."

"I didn't even know her," Beth whispered as another flood of tears stream down her cheeks. "And I just miss her so damn much."

Daryl brought her closer to him and her head found his shoulder and he brushed his lips across her forehead. "Me, too," he murmured and he held her as she shook with sobs and he knew she was trying to get herself to stop, but she wasn't able to.

He didn't stop holding her until he felt them starting to slow down and Beth's head lifted from his shoulder. Without a word, he wiped at her cheeks for her and then kissed her gently on the forehead.

"Daddy!"

Eli came running around the corner of the barn, the boy having no doubt that this was where both of his parents were. "I saw it from the window in the tree. Someone's coming," he said, slightly out of breath, having rushed here as fast as he could come and Eli had hardly gotten the words out before Daryl was on his feet.

"Living or walker?" Daryl asked him, picking up his crossbow from the ground and loading a bolt as Beth hurried to her feet, too.

"Living," Eli said. "Can I come?" He asked.

Daryl was already rushing away. "Stay with your mama," he said and he thought of Rosita out by the creek, washing the sheets.

He didn't even realize Buck was running with him until he was outside the fence, heading towards the creek, and the wolf ran ahead, knowing they were going to get Rosita. She was kneeling at the water's edge, scrubbing the bed sheet on their washboard, and she lifted her eyes, turning her head when she saw Buck and Daryl running towards her. She instantly stood up and took her knife from its sheath.

"What is it?" She asked him.

"Need you to get back inside. Someone's comin'," Daryl said.

"Daryl-" she began to protest, but Daryl didn't want to hear it.

"Go inside and make sure everyone stays inside, too," he said, short of ordering her.

He waited to see her leave the washboard and sheets and hurry towards their fence and then he turned in the direction Eli said he had seen the person. Time to creep. He gave Buck a look and as if the wolf understood, he made his steps silent as well. He was a wolf and a hunter and he knew how to be just as quiet as he stalked prey just as well as Daryl did; even better than Daryl did.

Daryl and Buck crept silently and as quickly as they could. Daryl didn't hear any other noise except a gentle, cool spring, breeze blowing, which meant that Beth and Rosita were making sure everyone within the fence was staying silent.

Daryl felt his heart pump in his chest with adrenaline. They rarely got anyone up here on their mountain. Walkers, sure. There were walkers everywhere. There were a lot of people in this country before the end of it all and even though Daryl felt as if he had killed a million walkers all on his own, there were always more coming.

But people… _living_ people was a damn rare sight all the way up here. They had miles and miles of mountains and woods and sometimes, it just felt impossible for anyone to pick their particular spot and find them.

He thought of Anna for a moment. He knew she was lonely and she wanted to find other people, and he let her go to try and do that for herself. But honestly, deep down, he didn't expect her to find anyone. These mountains were just too big.

Daryl would take care of this person – whoever they were – and then they would probably go a few more months before another person stumbled this way because that was the only way anyone came upon them. They got lost on their way to somewhere else. A person could get turned around in these mountains. It was too easy to get lost. Falling down a hole or getting hunted down by a wild animal. The Appalachian Mountains had saved his family, Daryl knew that, but he also knew that these mountains could be unforgiving.

He heard the person trying to walk quietly, but failing miserably. That was the second stick they had broken in as many minutes.

"Buck," Daryl whispered to the wolf and as if he understood, Buck took off running.

"Shit!" Daryl heard the person exclaim a handful of seconds later.

Daryl frowned a little. That sounded familiar…

Hurrying off after Buck, he came to a stop when he saw Buck circling a tree and lifting his crossbow up towards the branches, Daryl saw who it was.

"What are you doin' up there?" Daryl asked the boy who wasn't a boy anymore.

"Is this your insane hellhound?" Carl frowned down at him.

"Buck," Daryl said the animal's name sternly and snapped his fingers. Buck sat down, but didn't take his eyes off of Carl as he began slowly climbing back down. And once Carl's feet were on the ground, Daryl came to him and smiled with a hand clapping down on his shoulder. "What are you doin', comin' from that way?" He asked, glancing towards the West where Carl had been walking. Last time he and Rick had stumbled upon their home, they had been coming in from the Northeast.

"I got all turned around," Carl admitted and looked a bit embarrassed to do so.

Daryl wondered how the hell long Carl had been walking, looking for them.

"You hungry?" Daryl asked. "Come on, Buck."

Buck sniffed at Carl's ankles for a moment and then the wolf trotted ahead.

"Starving," Carl answered just how Daryl knew he would.

"Good," Daryl said. "Beth's prob'ly makin' breakfast right now and then you can help us with the plowin' today." They began walking – the first few steps quiet. "Everythin' alright? With you and your pops and… everyone?" Daryl asked and deep down, he was dreading the answer because what? Carl was just out, taking a stroll, that took him probably days to get himself down here?

"Everything's fine," Carl said with a nod of his head. "I just needed to get away."

It seemed like hell of a far stroll just to get away, but Daryl was happy to see him, nonetheless. Plowing day in the spring was always a bitch and with Anna gone, they could use the extra help.

…

"No, Matt!" Anna exclaimed his name and he dropped the mushroom he had just picked and she hurried to his side, picking the mushroom back up. "This is toxic. You never want this one."

Matt frowned at her and then looked back down to the mushroom in her hand. "How the hell can you tell? It looks exactly like the ones you've been picking."

Anna shook her head. "No, look closer. See? The color? It's called jack-o-lantern because the color is more yellowish. And see chicken of the woods? It has more of an orange hue?" She looked to him as she explained.

He was still frowning. "Then shouldn't _that_ be the one called jack-o-lantern?"

"Don't be difficult," Anna said with a roll of her eyes. "Look." She dropped the toxic mushroom and wiped her fingers on her jeans before gently pulling the chicken of the woods mushroom open. "See, it looks like white chicken meat."

Matt leaned in a little for a closer look. Anna tried to ignore how warm he made her feel just then, but suddenly, she understood how the heroines in all of those books she read felt when there was a handsome man standing in their vicinity.

She was swift to remind herself that she didn't know this man.

She didn't even know how old he was. All she knew was that he was obviously older.

She was only helping him because he didn't know anything and she felt that it was only right that she, a human being, show another human being how to survive.

Anna wondered if anyone in her family would actually believe her if that was what she told them.

The night before, she had fallen asleep on one side of the fire on the hard ground of the coalmine, knowing that Spitz would never let any harm come to her, and Matt had stayed on the other side of the fire. She wasn't sure if he slept or not because when she woke up the next morning, he was adding a few more sticks to their small fire while watching a walker snarl at the closed gate across the mine's entrance.

He glanced to her, seeing that she was awake, and she slowly sat up, her eyes never moving from off the walker.

"Don't worry," he said, surprising and startling her. "Can't get us through the gate. Been here a couple of days now and one hasn't gotten through yet."

Anna nodded, but she still couldn't help but be a little nervous. Daryl had taught her all about walkers; had taught her how to kill them and how to take care of herself. But they still scared her. Of course they did. Walkers should have scared everyone. And where they were able to live, with their strong fence and near-isolation and rare encounters with walkers, she had felt safe.

Spitz was on all four legs, his teeth bared, as he growled at the walker, the walker still snarling at them and trying to stretch at them through the gate, and Matt stood up then, a knife in his hand and Anna watched as he walked right up to the walker and stabbed it through its head. It dropped heavily to the ground like one of their bags of potatoes.

He then turned, wiping the blade on his jeans. "What's for breakfast?" He asked her.

As she heated the last two corn cakes, she told – informed – Matt that he couldn't stay here. He needed four walls – even though the gate had proven itself useful – but with storms and then winter, he needed four walls. She admitted. She had been both surprised and relieved when he hadn't argued with her and instead, had nodded in actual agreement.

And now, with their packs on their backs, Anna's lessons for him had begun.

"Can you eat them raw?" Matt asked, looking away from the mushroom to her.

"You can," Anna nodded and thought of Aaron. "My dad eats them like that when we're out, picking other things."

Matt took it without a moment's hesitation and popped a bit of the mushroom into his mouth. Anna couldn't help but smile a little as she watched him chew on it and then swallow it, taking a second for his brain to decide if he liked it or not.

"Doesn't taste like chicken," he then said and Anna couldn't contain a small laugh.

Matt gave his own small smile. He dropped the mushrooms into the bucket in Anna's hand and they continued walking again.

"So, you still got your mom and dad?" Matt asked her, glancing her way.

She kept her eyes around them, on the lookout for more plants to show him. She glanced at him just long enough to give him a small smile and nod before looking back to where they were walking. "I have two moms and three dads," she said.

"Gotcha," Matt said with a single nod.

Spitz was up ahead, sniffing at something on the ground, pawing at it, his tail wagging.

"No, Spitz," Anna commanded of the wolf. "Leave the badger alone."

She knew her wolf well enough and she had been able to recognize the badger prints.

Spitz looked at her as if he was frowning, but then the wolf turned and continued trotting on ahead. Anna could feel Matt looking at her from the corner of her eye, but she made sure to look at anything but him. She wasn't scared of him, but he did make her nervous and she knew that was probably just because she hadn't been around someone who wasn't a part of her family for so long.

"See those?" She asked, grateful she could get Matt's eyes off of her.

"The orange flowers?" He asked.

She nodded and headed straight for them. "Daylilies. We can boil the flower and we can eat the leaves raw." Anna crouched down and plucked one from the dirt and then stood up again, standing in front of Matt. She tore off one of the leaves and held it out in offering. As he hadn't done yet, Matt didn't hesitate. He took the leave and bit into it and again, Anna watched him as he chewed.

"You ever see _Land Before Time_?" He asked her suddenly and then paused, frowning at her as he just thought of something. "Christ, how old are you?"

"Sixteen," she answered, her shoulders stiffening a little. "And yes, I've seen it. The dinosaur cartoon with Little Foot," she then said to prove it to him.

"Well, that's who I feel right now. Little Foot, eating all of this green stuff," Matt said. He kept eating the daylily leaf and Anna tore one off for herself.

"What have you been eating?" Anna asked. She knelt down to begin plucking daylilies and was a little surprised when Matt stooped down to help her.

He was quiet and she figured he didn't want to tell her.

"I was part of a community," Matt said after a moment. "We had a lot. More than the others we took from. But I just couldn't do it anymore."

His answer only wanted her to ask more questions and even though she didn't know anything about this man as he dropped daylilies into her bucket, Anna already knew that if she asked him anything else, more than likely, he wouldn't answer her.

…

Blackie was getting too damn old and they didn't want to tire out the horse; not when they had other animals that could help them. Mulligan had had an old-fashioned plow and they used the goats – usually George or one of his kids – and strapped the plow to him to pull. Goats were stubborn asses though so while Daryl held onto the plow and walked it in rows, someone had to stand in front of the goat and usually coax him on with food. The others were then behind Daryl, digging the holes, dropping the seeds and covering them back up with the dirt.

It was an all day job and never their favorite, but was one of the most important they could do. They had three main crops – corn – as much corn as they could grow since they nearly used it for everything, including keeping their animals fed – as well as cabbage and potatoes – two other crops that kept them alive through winter. They also grew a bit of tomatoes, cucumbers and carrots. The soil in the mountains sucked, but they did what they could with what they had.

Sometimes, they didn't clear all of the crops away in the fall and nature was smart enough where they would rot into the ground and the seeds within the vegetables would be able to sprout and grow whole new plants. It was a natural cycle that had kept them alive for this long.

As Anna said, more than once, they were all like the damn pilgrims and history had gone and rewound itself all over again so it could repeat.

Today, it was Eli's job to help keep Bill the goat walking forward as Daryl plowed. He kept the animal occupied with bits of bread and a jar of jam and even with scallions. Daryl called the goats damn garbage disposals, but none of the kids ever knew what that was even when the adults tried to explain it to them.

Carl had been welcomed with hugs and slaps on the back and a plate with eggs, a slice of fresh lavender bread and some huckleberry jam. The boy-man had wolfed every morsel in front of him as if he hadn't eaten in days; which was entirely possible, they all knew, if he had come all the way here from where he had been in Virginia with just his knife and a canteen, empty of water.

He helped them now with planting, helping Aiden and Bee cover up the seeds with the dirt once they had been dropped down into the earth.

They were all playing a game – though Daryl always thought it was more like torture – and of course, it always led to questions from the kids who just didn't understand.

 _What do you miss?_

Most days, none of them even thought of how things used to be, because this was the way things were now and there was just no going back. But sometimes, when they were working hard and were trying to distract themselves from the sweat rolling down their temples and the aches in their back, they would play.

"Hot chocolate with marshmallows," Rosita said, practically smacking her lips.

"Starbucks," Aaron added with a smile.

"God, yes," Beth nearly moaned. "Ice-cold Frappuccino."

"What are marshmallows?" Aiden asked.

"What's frapalino?" Bee asked.

"Sugar clouds," Spencer smiled.

"Heaven," Beth replied. "What do you miss, Daryl?" She asked her husband's backside as they slowly finished one row and Eli was turning Bill and Daryl was turning the plow.

"Big Macs," Daryl grunted and suddenly, he swore he could taste it on his tongue. He then smirked a little at Eli. "It's a burger," he answered before it could be asked.

"What's a burger?" Bee asked.

"What are your parents teaching you?" Carl teased with a grin.

When the sun was directly overhead, they all broke for rest and lunch. Spencer took the kids and an exhausted Bill out of the fence so Bill could drink from the creek and Lily came with them to keep her eye on them. Rosita came as well, bringing a cloth with her so she could wipe the kids free of dirt and sweat from their hands and faces. Aaron went into the cabin with Beth to help with lunch and Carl followed Daryl to one of the rain buckets.

Without a word, Daryl picked up a bucket, dunked it into the water and Carl let out a huff of laughter as Daryl then dumped it over his head. Daryl shook his head back and forth like a dog, droplets spraying everywhere, and he then looked at Carl, holding the bucket over the water again and asked Carl silently. Carl nodded and Daryl, once again, dunked the bucket into the barrel and then tipped it over Carl's head, soaking him with the refreshing water.

"We'll get you a change of clothes," Daryl said.

"Thanks," Carl said with a smile even though it felt pretty damn good to be soaked to the bone right now after such a strenuous morning.

"So you gonna tell me wha's goin' on?" Daryl finally asked.

He expected Carl to not answer, but instead, Carl shrugged.

"I can't stand to be there. I can't stand the way they've all just rolled over for that guy," Carl said and Daryl didn't say anything; just leaned back against one of the tree-house posts behind him and crossed his arms over his chest, listening. "I can't live like that anymore. My dad and me got into this huge fight. I said I'd go and kill all of those guys since he didn't want to. I'd get Judith back, too, but he told me not to. Something might happen and then he'd lose me, too."

"Your pops ain't wrong," Daryl said.

Carl exhaled a deep sigh. "Would it be possible for me to stay here with you guys?"

The question didn't surprise Daryl in the least. Hell, he had been expecting Rick to ask him that first time they had all seen one another after all of these years.

"'m gonna have to talk with Beth and the others 'bout it," Daryl answered.

Carl nodded his head. "I know you work hard up here, but you guys just seem to have it so much easier than anywhere else we've ever been."

Daryl frowned.

He thought of Mulligan. He thought of their first house in the St. George subdivision; of the people he had killed to keep them safe. Of Beth almost being raped all of those years ago. Of the storm that had ripped that house apart. Of the hard winters and the brutal summers and the never-ending work and always worrying because who knew what else the world would feel like throwing their way and if they could make it through. He thought of Beth. Of Eli. Of every person in his family that looked to him to keep them safe. Of Anna leaving.

He thought of his baby girl resting in a box under the earth behind the barn.

"You don't know what the hell you're talkin' 'bout," Daryl muttered.

…

* * *

 **Thank you so much for reading and please take a moment to review. I love writing this story so much and it means the world to know that others love it, too.  
**

 **Also, I was thinking of seeds with this story. That's how I always "plant" my garden. I just leave things out and let them kind of disintegrate into the ground and they replant themselves. That's how I always get my pumpkins, beans and tomatoes :)**


	32. Shower

**Chapters for this story always fly out of me and in the couple of weeks since I have last visited, I have missed writing this one.**

 **Just a reminder: This is not a Negan story and this is not an old-family story. Carl is not my favorite. I don't hate him, but I've never liked him and I think for everything he's gone through, he still acts immaturely and doesn't think things through. He's kind of like his dad in many ways. I'm not trying to get rid of Carl. I just don't want him in this story too much.**

* * *

…

 **Chapter Thirty-two.** Shower. **  
**

They had come across a house – a small, ramshackle of a house – and on the kitchen table, there had been a few pieces of mail covered in dust. They were in Kentucky. Walking for a couple of weeks without stop had gotten her quite a ways from home.

"What do you think?" Matt asked after they walked through the other dusty rooms.

Neither had said anything, but both were tired. Beyond the point of being tired. They had been doing nothing, but walking for the past four days. They both needed a rest. Not a long one. Just a day or two and then they would be ready to go again. Anna was heading back south, back towards the Blue Ridge chain and Georgia and home, and she and Matt hadn't discussed what he was doing, but it was as if they had come to some sort of silent agreement that he was just going to come with her. At least for the time being. She was still trying to figure him out, but she felt comfortable around him and he was older and yet, he looked to her for answers. It was no secret between them that she seemed to know much more about things than him.

Anna looked around once more. "I think it's good."

They found a creek a bit away and they filled up their water bottles with fresh water and Matt turned his back when Anna washed herself and she did the same when it was his turn. Anna sat on the ground and kept her back to him and the creek – pretending that she wasn't listening to the splashing of the water as Matt washed himself – and she kept herself busy with pulling out little thistles that had gotten stuck in Spitz's fur during their journey, the wolf sitting patiently as she gently worked her fingers through his coat.

"I wish, I wish my baby was born,

and sittin' on its papa's knees," she began singing as she worked.

"And me, poor girl,

And me, poor girl, were dead and gone,

and the green grass growin' o'er my feet.

"I ain't ahead, nor never will be.

'till the sweet apple grows,

on the sour apple tree."

Matt, fully dressed and rubbing his towel over his head, came and sat down across from her and she hadn't known that he was finished bathing. He watched her as she kept singing and she pulled the last of the thistles from Spitz's fur and rubbed the wolf affectionately behind his ears. He gave her a lick on her face and she giggled before he turned and trotted off into the trees, probably off to go hunt himself down something for dinner.

Unsure of what to do with herself, Anna began combing her fingers through her still damp hair and then began to braid it, pretending she didn't feel Matt's eyes on hers. She didn't know why, but her stomach was clenched as if she was nervous.

"I liked that one," Matt said after a moment.

Anna lifted her eyes to him. "Thanks," she said with a small smile.

"Where'd you learn it?" He asked. He stopped drying his head and he set the towel down on his pack beside him before he drew his knees up, loosely wrapping his arms around them, and his eyes never left her.

Anna found herself unable to look at him though for too long and she looked towards the creek instead. She wondered if this was the same creek that flowed past her family's home though she knew it wasn't. Mulligan had told her that there were dozens upon dozens of creeks in the mountains. All weaving in and out like spider webs. Mulligan. She couldn't go a day without thinking of him at least a dozen different times. And sometimes, when she did, her eyes still stung with tears.

"Someone taught me," she answered softly. She swallowed a dry cotton ball in the base of her throat. "Mulligan," she then said and she hadn't said his name out loud for so long and already, she felt water rushing towards the corners of her eyes. "He called them his mountain music."

"Hey," Matt said as if he could sense her distress and he leaned forward, his hand gently finding her elbow. "You don't have to tell me."

Anna shook her head. "I'm okay," she said though how true that was, she didn't know. "It's just… he was… Mulligan was _everything_ ," she decided in a whisper.

Matt's fingers gave her elbow a gentle squeeze before he pulled his hand away.

"My family and I had a home, further south in Georgia, but a storm came through and ruined it. Mulligan lived in the mountains and he let us live with him. He loved Beth's cooking and Beth was going to have a baby and Aiden was still just a baby himself and Mulligan wanted us to stay. He told us that it wouldn't sit right with him if he sent us packing."

She finished her braid and took a deep breath as she decided to continue. Maybe it would help if she talked about him. When he died and they brought him back, wrapped in a sheet, Anna had never really talked about him again. Just his name a few times in passing. Nothing more. Maybe it was time she did.

"I was scared of him at first. He looked like some crazy mountain man with his white hair and beard, but I was eight and I was scared of everything else, too. Mulligan knew that and he took me out to the barn to show me his animals. There were goats and sheep and a horse and chickens and the next day, I went out to the barn with him and the day after that and on and on and he said I was the only one he trusted with the animals… He showed me everything. Showed me how to feed the animals and milk the goats and brush down Blackie the horse and check his shoes. In the spring, he taught me how to sheer the sheep and help with the births…"

She trailed off and swallowed the thickness in her throat.

"We spent so much time together and we talked about all sorts of things and it was so strange because he was in his sixties and I was just some kid, but I was able to tell him things I couldn't tell anyone else. He became the most important person to me.

"If Mulligan was alive, he would have understood completely why I had to leave. He would have been on my side. Hell, he probably would have wanted to come."

She saw Matt smile a little at that.

"He sounds like a cool guy," he said.

"The coolest," Anna agreed. She wiped at her cheeks. "I'm sorry."

Matt shrugged. "No reason why you should apologize. We've all lost someone."

"What about you?" She asked him curiously. "Have you lost someone?"

"Yeah… but before all of this happened. My sister had cancer and died about six months before everything else went to shit. We were twins and when she died…" He trailed off as if he didn't want to say out loud what he was thinking.

"Twins are connected," Anna said. "Isn't that what's always said?"

Matt gave a single nod and brought his arms around his knees once more. "Once she went, nothing much mattered to me anymore after that. I didn't care what I had to do or what I _did_ do to survive. I didn't even know why I wanted to survive though."

"Those people you were with, why did you decide to leave?" Anna asked and she supposed that she had been wanting to ask that question ever since he first mentioned it to her days earlier.

She knew what Daryl said. He had told her so many times over the years.

You be afraid of the walkers, but you be afraid of the living people more.

But Matt didn't make her scared. Or nervous. And she wondered if she was an idiot for not being more cautious around him. She didn't know anything about him and she had already revealed so much about her. Was she being a gigantic idiot?

Matt exhaled a sigh. "They were strong. They had a lot of stuff. The guy running them was insane, but he made sure everyone staying with him was safe." He shrugged then and exhaled again. "My sister would have hated their guts. They weren't good people and after a while, I just kept imagining how pissed she would be at me. And then I realized I was pissed at me and… yeah. I walked and kept on walking even though I had no idea where I was going or what I was doing."

"And this guy, he just let you leave?" Anna asked.

"Didn't let me take anything with me when I did," Matt replied. "Not even a knife. Said if I wanted to get my ass eaten, be his guest."

Anna frowned at that. "Charming."

Matt let out a laugh at that. "You have no idea."

"But at least you got away," she offered. "And it's not so bad, being on your own."

"Thank God you've taken pity on my ass," Matt said and Anna felt a warmth spread across her chest from his words and his eyes settled on hers.

She had absolutely no idea what to say.

Thankfully, Spitz returned then and trotting right up to Anna, he dropped a fish from his mouth to her feet. Anna burst into a smile and was grateful for the distraction from Matt's dark eyes focused on her.

"Good boy, Spitz," she said, rubbing the dog's head, and he wagged his tail eagerly. She picked up the fish and then looked to Matt to find that he hadn't taken his eyes off of her. "I can teach you how to clean it."

He gave her a smile and a slight head nod. "That'd be great," he said and Anna smiled at him in return. He looked at her for a moment longer and then cleared his throat and moved his eyes away from her, looking towards the creek. She could see him visibly clench his jaw together so tightly, a muscle twitched in his face.

She took her knife out, but didn't cut into the fish yet. "How old are you?" She asked.

Matt smirked a little, but didn't look back to her. "Not sixteen."

…

The clap of lightning was so loud, Daryl swore that it was right in the room with him and his eyes snapped open to make sure that it wasn't.

For a moment, he was disoriented, not too sure where he was or what time it was, but then, after a moment, his brain caught up. One, he was in his and Beth's bed. Where else would he be? His head was on the familiar pillow and the familiar quilt was over his body. During the warm months, Beth took all of the quilts and blankets off the bed so they only slept with one covering them at night.

And after another moment, he saw that it was morning. At least, he thought it was. The room wasn't as pitch black as it was at night, but it wasn't as bright as it was during the day. It was grey. And then he heard a drum-roll of thunder and he finally heard the steady pounding of rain on the tree house's roof.

He laid on his stomach, his head turned on the pillow towards Beth. She was sitting up against her pillow and the headboard, her knees bent up beneath the quilt and a book was open and propped up against her thighs. The room may have been grey, but there was enough light to read by. Between them, Eli was fast asleep – seemingly not bothered with the storm. Daryl hadn't even heard the boy crawl into bed with them. There was a book across his chest, _Robin Hood_ , and Daryl figured that Eli and Beth had been reading for a bit before Eli fell asleep.

The whole thing made Daryl frown. He wasn't usually that heavy of a sleeper. How hadn't he heard a single damn thing for the past few hours?

Beth turned a page in the book and her eyes were reading with rapt attention.

Daryl rolled onto his side, towards her and Eli, and Beth looked, seeing he was awake, and she gave him a small, warm smile.

"Good morning," she said softly so not to disturb Eli, but Daryl figured that if the storm raging outside wasn't waking their boy up, talking over him wouldn't.

Daryl grunted something – he hoped it was some sort of greeting – and she smiled before holding up her book a little.

"I want you to read something if you're awake enough to," she said.

Daryl let out a yawn and then a nod, pushing himself up enough for him to roll around and sit up. She held the book over and he took it as she pointed to the passage in particular she had been studying. It took his still-tired eyes a second longer to adjust and read what she was.

"We don't have celery," Beth said as he read. "And I can use scallions in place of the onions they're talking about. We have the rosemary and thyme. Do you think it will matter if we don't have the celery? I wonder if that will change the taste of it."

"Don't see why it would," Daryl shrugged. "Wouldn' be the first time you've improvised on a recipe. I'm gonna have to kill you a chicken."

"Not today," Beth said and he handed her back the book. "I've been thinking about it though. I never tried just because I've been able to makes stews without it. But it would be good to know how to make it if I make soup and the flour and water would make it too heavy…" she trailed off for a moment. "What do you think?" She asked him and he couldn't help but wonder why she was asking him.

If anything, over all of their years together, Beth had proven that the kitchen was her domain and they all ate pretty damn well because of her. They actually had full bellies because of her. It was the end of the damn world and this woman was able to still make breads and goat cheese. It was amazing what she could do even when she just went and picked random plants in the woods.

"'m pretty sure you can do anythin'," he said and she smiled, blushing at that. "When you gonna try it?"

"Not for a while," Beth answered. "It's still a little too warm still for chicken broth."

"When did this one get in here?" Daryl asked, looking down to Eli, still sleeping deeply, the book rising and falling steadily with each breath he took.

"It was around the middle of the night. The storm sounded even worse then and he was worried the house was going to fall down," Beth said as she ran her fingers through Eli's dark hair. "You really didn't hear anything?" She asked, lifting her eyes to look to Daryl once again.

Daryl shook his head and that made him frown. Why the hell didn't he hear that?

"You were fixing shingles on the roofs all day," Beth pointed out to him as if she was able to read the confusion in his mind and this was Beth so she probably could. "You were absolutely exhausted. You slept so hard because your body needed it."

Daryl kept frowning though. Working hard wasn't an excuse to sleep like a rock. He worked hard every damn day. He didn't care how isolated they were up here. He couldn't just pass out without being aware still of things happening around him.

"Stop," Beth said and reached out, running her fingers gently over his furrowed brow. "Let's look on the bright side. It's raining, which is good for our crops, and I'm going to be making spaghetti for dinner tonight."

Beth was right. Those _were_ two good things. Beth was damn good at making her own pasta noodles and the week before, he and Aaron had gone on a random run for Bee because Bee needed shoes. Bee always needed shoes. Spencer specifically told her to quit growing, but the little girl didn't seem to be listening and didn't stop. They had found some random houses and had found some random things that could be useful to them – including three cans of tomato paste. With the paste, Beth would be able to take a few of the tomatoes that had already gotten big and red enough on their vines to pluck and she would be able to make spaghetti sauce.

It was going to be a feast tonight.

"You think Anna's caught in this?" Daryl asked.

Over the summer months, there had been some sort of silent agreement between the other adults. They had never talked about it, but it was something they had all decided together nonetheless. They didn't talk about Anna. They all thought about her, but they didn't talk about her. They knew she was strong and brave and smart, but it almost physically pained them if they talked about her. They didn't know where she was or how she was doing or if…

No, they knew she was still alive. She had to be. They would all feel it if she wasn't.

But still, talking about her and not knowing anything was just too hard for them.

"If she is, I'm sure she's found someplace to hunker down until it passes," Beth said.

"You think she's met someone?" Daryl wondered and he didn't know why he was talking about Anna this morning. Maybe it was just being in bed, warm and dry from the storm outside; being tucked in with his wife and son and being relatively safe.

"I hope she's met someone good," Beth replied.

"Not too many good people left," Daryl said before he could stop himself. Beth didn't need to hear that and he didn't want to think about it. "I just wan' her home. She knows I gave her until the end of summer and then, she's needed back here." He didn't want to think that if she _had_ met someone, maybe she wouldn't be back at all.

Not for the first time, Daryl wondered what the hell he had been thinking, letting her go in the first place.

"I gotta take a piss," Daryl said, not wanting to think about that anymore.

He pulled himself from the bed and went to their little area closed off with the curtain where they kept their metal tub for bathing in the winter and the bucket for pissing in and he relieved himself before walking back towards one of the counters he had built along the walls for Beth. He washed his hands off in the little plastic tub of water they kept with the bar of marigold soap Beth had made and then leaned down, washing his face with it as well. Maybe he should go stand out in the rain. It had been a few days since he had bathed last.

"If you're going to do that, you need to take Eli," Beth spoke up from the bed, again, peeking into his mind and reading his thoughts. "He's turning into you, I swear."

Daryl smirked a little at that and taking his toothbrush, he used a little bit of the baking soda they used and brushed his teeth, leaning back against the counter and watching Beth as she continued reading her book and Eli continued sleeping.

Shit. He was having one of those mornings. One of those mornings where he looked at Beth and their little kid and he wondered how the hell he had gotten here. The wife and a kid and a fucking tree-house in the Appalachian Mountains at the end of the world; how he had gotten to this point where he was still breathing and he was keeping them all relatively safe and _alive_.

Honestly, when the whole thing started and he and Merle had gotten out of Atlanta, Daryl hadn't thought past that. Just stick with Merle and stay alive and whatever happened would happen. Dixons were survivors by their very nature, but Daryl had known back then that if anyone would have made it, it would have been him and Merle. These mornings, when he looked at Beth and thought of everything they had gone through to get to this exact moment, he thought of how Merle should have been here with all of them, too. And Hershel…

He turned quickly and spit into the second bin they had – their "sink" – and rinsed his mouth off with water from their drinking water pail. He stood there for a moment, bracing his hands on the counter, looking out the window and watching the rain splatter against the glass.

He wasn't surprised when Beth appeared behind him and her arms slipped around his waist and standing on her toes, she kissed the back of his neck through his hair.

"I love you," she whispered to him.

Daryl's fingers ran back and forth along her arm and her cheek rested on his back.

"Love you, too," he said. "Don't know what I'd do without you."

He could hear her smiling.

"Just imagine if you had gotten out of the prison with Maggie," she teased lightly.

Daryl smirked as well. "Prob'ly would have killed her. Or she would killed me." His fingers found hers resting on his stomach and he weaved them together, giving them a gentle squeeze. "Nah, girl. What's that thing you always tellin' me? You and me gettin' out of there together was fate."

Beth squeezed her arms around his middle and kissed the back of his neck again.

"And don't you forget it, Mr. Dixon," she murmured.

He found the scar on her wrist that she didn't cover up with bracelets anymore and he felt her shiver as he traced it as gently as he could with his thumb. The girl who had done this was no one like the woman who stood behind him now. They weren't even the same person. He hoped she knew that. He would tell her if she didn't.

Daryl turned around then, facing her, and he lowered his head, pressing it to the side of her throat, and breathed her in. Beth's arms remained around his waist and she hugged him and sometimes, that was really the only thing he needed. When his mind wandered to how things used to be and how things could have been, really, the only thing that could pull him back was a hug from Beth. And it didn't surprise him in the least that she already knew that without needing him to tell her that.

…

The rain had softened and the lightning had stopped and Beth woke Eli up with a gentle, "Time to start the day."

They all left the tree-house a little bit later, heading into the cabin for breakfast. Not only was it spaghetti night for dinner, but it was also Bee's birthday. Four years old and she sat at the kitchen table with Beth's journal – the one with her flowers and plants, recipes and medicines written on the pages – open in front of her. They had all gotten her little gifts that would be opened after dinner that evening and in the meantime, Rosita had weaved her a wreath of wildflowers to wear on her head.

"Happy Birthday, baby Bee," Beth smiled, kissing her cheek. Daryl kissed her other cheek and Bee smiled as his scruff tickled her. "Did you decide what you want for your birthday breakfast?"

Keeping track of the kids and their birthdays was one of the easiest things they did. In Beth's private journal, she wrote about each birth and they counted days from there. With the adults, none of them really knew their ages anymore. After a certain point, they were all just grateful to still be alive.

Bee nodded and pointed to one of Beth's recipes. Beth smiled.

"No problem, birthday girl," Beth smiled and Bee smiled in return.

Spencer was sitting at the table, sharpening his knives, and he looked over to see what she had picked. "Excellent choice," he said and Bee smiled wider.

Beth took the loaf of fresh honey bread she had baked the day before and the basket of eggs Aaron had already brought in from the barn, and setting the iron pan on the stove, she began fixing Bee's breakfast of choice: egg in a frame.

Daryl stood at the open back door, watching the rain fall. He then looked back to Eli, who was sitting at the table, still looking half asleep. "You ready?" Daryl asked him.

Eli nodded with a yawn and slipped down from his chair.

"Where are you going?" Carl asked, having just come down the stairs from the bedroom he and Aiden now shared.

"We're going to go shower," Eli answered him.

"Oh, hell, yeah," Spencer said, standing up quickly with a smile, leaving his knives.

"I come, too!" Bee exclaimed and began to stand up.

"No, baby girl," Rosita spoke up from her spot at the fireplace in the living room, keeping watch over a kettle of milk. "You just took a bath last night and you're not an animal," she said and Beth laughed softly, frying up the egg and bread in the pan.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Daryl frowned at her with no bite to his tone.

"It means you guys need to bathe more than just every time it rains," Rosita smirked at him as she stood up and carried the kettle to the table.

"What's the point in bathing when we're just going to get dirty again?" Spencer asked her with a grin and a wink.

"Hurry up so I can finish cooking breakfast and get started on the spaghetti sauce!" Beth called out as they headed out the door.

Outside, with Carl following after them, they first stopped in the barn to tell Aaron and Aiden that they were going. The rain was still falling steadily and armed with their bars of soap, the men followed the creek for a few feet before Daryl stopped them in a clearing with their fence still visible through the trees.

"You guys do this all the time?" Carl asked, smiling a little as the others began taking their clothes off, stripping themselves down to their boxers and underwear. Standing in the rain, letting the water soak their skin, they then took their bars of soap and began lathering themselves up.

Daryl took the bar and scrubbed it over Eli's head. "Jus' when it's warm enough and the rain is strong enough. Don't want it too light or too heavy."

Carl hesitated for a moment and then began stripping down to his boxers.

"Rosita calls it homo-erotic," Spencer said as he lathered his own hair and then made sure Aiden washed behind his ears. "I told her don't insult Aaron like that," he then grinned at the other man and Aaron smirked.

"I didn't do anything like this when there were plenty of other men around," Aaron said and the way he said it, it made Carl think that it wasn't the first time he had said the exact thing to Spencer before.

"Other men? What are me and Daryl? Chopped liver?" Spencer joked and Carl felt himself grin as Aaron tossed him a bar of soap and he began washing himself up.

Carl couldn't get over how different it was here. Yeah, they still killed walkers and Beth watched over their food like a hawk, always counting and writing it down in her ledger, wanting to make sure that there was always enough. And that was the thing. They had food. Not a ton, but a lot by nowadays' standards. They ate breakfast and dinner every night and he had only been with them for a couple of weeks now, but he was still amazed when Beth placed a slice of bread down in front of him.

Leaving his dad and setting out to find Daryl and the others again was the best decision Carl had made in a long time. Now, living here, he was just all the more determined to go and rescue Judith so he could bring her back and she could live here, too.

Every time Carl saw her at the factory, she looked happy. Negan treated her like she was his own daughter. He made sure she was in school and he had even gotten her a cat to have. She always had a hug for Carl and Rick when Negan allowed them to visit with her, but anytime Rick asked her if she was happy, Judith always beamed and said that she was and Carl knew she meant it.

Carl didn't even know if his sister would want to leave. She had been with Negan since she was a little toddler. Being with Negan and the other Saviors was really all she could remember. But Carl didn't care about that. He would get his sister back and he would bring her up in these mountains to live and now, all he had to do was talk with Daryl about coming with him back to Virginia.

…

* * *

 **Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to review!**


	33. Birthday

**I wasn't even planning on it, but this has become such an epic and I can't give enough thanks to those who read and still support me. Comments on this story are some of the best I have ever gotten for any of my stories. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I can't tell you how much it means to me.**

* * *

…

 **Chapter Thirty-three.** Birthday. **  
**

That evening, they ate their spaghetti dinner until every noodle was gone and every trace of the sauce was wiped clean from the pot. They ate until they were all full and happy and Aaron, Beth and Rosita cleared the table, carrying the plates to the sink to be washed later before Aaron went to get the kettle of milk from where it was hanging over the fire in the living room, Rosita went to go get the presents and Beth brought the honey cake she had baked earlier to the table.

Aaron poured out cups and then dropped teaspoons of the cocoa in before passing them out for everyone. It was warm for hot cocoa, but Bee had requested it for her birthday and they couldn't very well tell her that they couldn't have something as simple as cups of hot cocoa.

They had made a candle out of a crayon a few years earlier that they reused for the kids' birthdays and Spencer struck a match as Beth placed it in the middle of the honey cake and Spencer lit the wick. Rosita came from the bedroom and set the small amount of gifts they had gathered for Bee and Bee sat up on her knees in her chair as everyone sang her 'Happy Birthday' and then they clapped when she blew the candle out and both Spencer and Rosita kissed her on the cheeks.

"What'd you wish for, Bee?" Aiden asked his sister as Beth took the candle out and then took the cake away to cut pieces for everyone.

"She can't tell us or it won't come true," Eli reminded him with a slight frown.

"I wished for Anna to come home," Bee told them in her quiet voice.

"She will," Rosita said, kissing her head again and giving her a squeeze. "You want to open your presents now?" She asked and Bee nodded her head.

They didn't have wrapping paper so they always wrapped presents in bits of cloth, tied with a random spool of ribbon they had found years ago. They all sat at the table, eating their cake and drinking their cocoa and smiling as Bee pulled on each ribbon and parted the cloth to reveal what they had found for her for her birthday.

A snow globe with a deer standing next to a bare tree made her gasp with delighted surprise and she beamed as she shook it, watching the snow fall within the glass.

"What's this?" She asked as she opened up her next present and held up a piece of rope with two wooden handles tied to the end.

"'s jumpin' rope," Daryl told her. "You try it and lemme know if I made it too long."

"Just like Betsy," Bee beamed, holding the rope tight to her chest.

They had found a box buried in the back of the root cellar downstairs, filled with old books that had belonged to others in Mulligan's family and one was from the early fifties – a children's book about a girl named Betsy and Rosita was reading to Bee from it every night, teaching her how to read along with it.

The last present also had her brow furrowed, unsure of it. "What's this?" She asked again, looking down at the box.

Spencer grinned and leaned towards her in his chair. "Connect 4. You'll love it."

Aiden and Eli both leaned forward to get a closer look, neither knowing what it was either, and Carl smiled as he finished chewing his last bit of honey cake.

"Where did you guys even find that?" Carl asked them.

"We have our ways," Beth smiled, finishing her own bit of cake.

"Believe it or not, when the world ended, people didn't care about taking the board games when they scavenged a place," Spencer said, taking the box to look at it closer. He seemed to be more excited for it than Bee – who still didn't know what it was and who was now distracted with her snow globe and jumping rope.

"Is it checkers?" Aiden asked, leaning into his dad to get a closer look, seeing that the game pieces on the front of the box were red and black just like checkers.

"You'll see. First game, me and Bee versus Aiden and Eli," Spencer said, standing up. "What do you say, baby Bee?" He asked.

"Can I go jump my rope?" Bee asked.

"Of course you can, sweetie," Rosita said with a smile as she stood up, taking hers and Bee's empty plates. "I'll be out in a few minutes to show you how to do it."

"Me and Eli versus you and Aiden," Aaron suggested to Spencer, getting to his feet as well, and he drained the last of his hot cocoa.

"I'm a very competitive Connect 4 player, just to warn you," Spencer said.

"Eric never won a game against me," Aaron replied with a smile.

"Oh, it's on." Spencer gave him a grin and then leaned down to press a kiss to Bee's head. "Happy Birthday, baby girl."

She smiled up at him. "Thank you, daddy."

Bee then slid off of her chair and proceeded to walk to everyone, giving them each a hug, thanking each of them for her birthday. She then opened the back door, letting the sinking sun's light stream into the kitchen and with Lily following after her, she went into the yard where Rosita could still watch her from the window over the sink as she washed the dishes and Bee took her first hop over the rope.

"Thanks, Beth," Carl said, leaning back as Beth took his empty plate and Spencer opened the box and he and Aaron began setting it up. Carl then looked to Daryl, as he continued sitting in his chair, watching the others with a slight twist of his lips, listening as Aaron and Spencer began explaining the game to Eli and Aiden. "Daryl," Carl said and Daryl instantly moved his eyes to look at him. "Can we talk?" He asked.

Daryl didn't say anything. He simply nodded and got to his feet. Carl stood up as well and watched as Daryl first gave Eli a kiss on the head and then went to Beth as she stood with Rosita at the sink. He murmured something in her ear and Beth smiled up at him before he leaned in and kiss her forehead.

Carl used to be so intimidated by the man – while secretly thinking that the rough redneck was a badass with his motorcycle and crossbow – and he knew that Daryl was still a man that others should fear – parts like that of a person couldn't just be destroyed – and yet, there was a part of him who had softened. Obviously, being with Beth and having a kid with her had done that to him – as it would to almost everyone else – but it was still a little weird for Carl to see. The man who was so quick to have a snarl for anyone now kissed his wife and son gently on the head and he seemed relax as he walked outside, grabbing his crossbow from where it rested in the corner, with Carl following behind.

"Look, Daryl!" Bee said as she made a jump over the rope and then swung the rope over her head, letting it lie on the ground as she took another jump.

"Lookin' good," he smiled back at her and Bee let out a proud giggle. He looked back to Carl. "Gonna go check the trenches. See if any of 'em need to be emptied," he said.

Carl nodded and followed him out the gate.

The mountains sounded quiet, but only from what people used to consider noise. Now, there were birds chirping and an owl hooting as he woke himself up for the night. Crickets sang and the water in the creek tinkled as it flowed over the rocks. In the distant, Carl could hear a sharp screech and knew that it was bats – Daryl had told him that his first night here and had heard it for the first time – coming out with the setting sun, ready to go feast on some insects.

A gentle breeze was blowing – a little cool – and summer was winding down. Soon, Beth had said, there would be harvesting and canning and so much had to be done before fall could set in so they would all be ready for the cold months.

Buck came with them and together, they began walking to the trenches that they had dug when they had first come up here and told Mulligan that they were needed. Something as simple as a hole in the ground was a surprisingly good defense against the walkers. It wasn't like they had the brain to walk around them.

One had stumbled into the first trench they came across and Daryl fired a bolt into its skull, dropping it to the ground. Daryl then dropped down into the hole to pull it out again and load his crossbow once again.

"I need you to come to Virginia with me," Carl said as he stood on the ground above and looked down to Daryl. "I'm going to kill Negan and get Judith back and bring her up here to live and I need you to come with me."

"No," Daryl said without even taking a minute to think it over.

Carl blinked down at him. "No?" He echoed as if he hadn't thought that Daryl would ever say to them. He _hadn't_ thought that Daryl would just outright refuse him.

"No," Daryl said again and pulled himself out of the trench to stand, once again, in front of Carl. "I made a promise to myself that I ain't ever leavin' this mountain again. Not even for you or Lil' Asskicker."

Carl continued to blink at him as if he didn't understand. And he didn't understand. What was he talking about? He wasn't going to come and help him?

"You have to come," Carl said stubbornly.

"Why?" Daryl asked him and his eyes looked hard and yet, the rest of him seemed almost relaxed. "You told me already. Judith's got everything she could ever want. You think she'd want to leave all of that and come up here?" He asked.

Carl's eyes narrowed slightly at him. "She doesn't _know_ any better. She's only known Negan for so long. She doesn't even remember…" he shook his head. "She'll come."

"Fine," Daryl said, deciding to let that slide for the moment. "Wha' about you? How are you gonna kill this guy?"

Carl admitted he hadn't thought that far ahead yet. He didn't have a plan. He just knew that he had to kill Negan. "When I visit Judith next, I'll do it then."

"How?" Daryl continued to press and Carl's frown grew heavier.

"I don't know. I'll think of something."

It looked like Daryl almost wanted to smirk. "And what's gonna happen if you succeed in killin' 'im? Or better yet, what are you gonna do if you don't?"

Daryl watched as Carl's brow furrowed and Daryl almost wanted to smirk and shake his head because this kid was just like his dad. Even with so many years having passed, Daryl still looked to Rick like he was another brother. He loved that man. But Rick oftentimes didn't think what his actions could do in the long run. Daryl was grateful that he had finally learned how to slow down and think everything through because every decision he made, it wasn't just about him anymore and it hadn't been for a long time.

Carl was young and impulsive and some might say he was just being a stupid kid.

"What do you mean?" Carl asked.

"You and your pops said that Negan has plenty of people. You think they're gonna be alright with you killin' their leader or whatever the hell he is? And if you try to kill 'im, but you're not able to, you think Negan's gonna let you walk out of there?"

Carl didn't say anything to that; having no idea what to say.

"You need a plan, Carl."

"So _help_ me," Carl said, almost snapping. "Come and help me."

Daryl shook his head. "I ain't leavin' this mountain," he told him. "I got a wife and a kid and a family who depend on me."

"I thought I was your family, too," Carl said.

"You are," Daryl said with a nod, but he refused to let some kid guilt him into doing something that Daryl knew was stupid just even thinking about. "But I'm gonna tell you somethin' right now." He took a step closer to him, purposely crowding Carl's personal space. "If you do somethin' stupid and you run and you lead _anyone_ back here, I'll kill you myself."

Carl's eyes widened at that and he quickly took a step back.

Daryl didn't say anything else. He turned and with Buck trotting next to him, he headed towards the next trench to check it out. Carl didn't follow him.

…

"What do you think?" Matt whispered to her.

Anna shook her head, not too sure what to say, as she continued staying crouched in the thicket of bushes, able to see the flames of the fire off in the distance. She was trying to hear any other sound – to try and figure out how many people were sitting around that fire – but she didn't hear anyone. Either it was only one person or there was more than one and they weren't talking.

Her heart was pounding in the base of her throat and her hands were beginning to sweat as her fingers curled around the handle of her knife.

She knew what Daryl had done. Everyone – except the children – knew. They knew that he had killed people to keep them safe. They never talked about it, but they knew. She didn't know how many there had been, but anyone that got even close to their house when they had been living in the St. George subdivision, Daryl would sneak out and take care of them and now that she was older, Anna wondered why they had let him carry that burden and responsibility all on his own.

Anna already knew that she wouldn't be able to take another person's life. She had never even thought that she would have to someday. She wasn't naïve. How could anyone be nowadays? She knew that killing a person was just as normal as killing a walker, but Daryl had taught her how to defend herself; not how to kill.

She had asked Matt the three questions on their second together.

 _How many walkers have you killed?_ Does anyone keep count anymore?

 _How many people have you killed?_ Matt hadn't answered that one and instead, he had looked away as if he had been physically unable to meet her eyes with his own.

 _Why?_ Either them or me.

Matt had his knife out as well as he crouched beside her, his eyes also focused on the small fire through the trees. Spitz was on the other side of her, his ears pointed at full attention and his body low to the ground.

"Alright," Matt then said, keeping his voice in a whisper. "You stay here. I'm going to take Spitz and I'm going to get closer."

"No," Anna immediately began to protest. "We don't have to know. We can just go another way."

Matt looked at her for a moment and she could hardly see him in the fading light and yet, she could feel his eyes on her. He was staring at her and Anna felt that tightening in her stomach and she wondered – not for the first time – what he felt for her; if he felt anything. Anna wondered how old he was. He had shrugged when she asked and said in his twenties; he didn't know. She wondered if she was just a kid when he looked at her.

"I'll be right back," he promised to her and she nodded as she swallowed the thickness in her throat. "Come on, Spitz."

The wolf had gotten closer to Matt as they had all traveled together and now, at a command – finally – the wolf crept forward, walking quietly through the trees, walking closer towards the fire and further away from Anna. She didn't blink as she did her best to keep watching them, but eventually Matt bled into the darkness.

Anna didn't know if she was breathing. She wouldn't be surprised if she wasn't. She should have gone with them. She shouldn't have just remained here, crouching in the bushes as if she was afraid. No one in her family had raised her to be afraid. Mulligan would probably be frowning fiercely if he could see her now. And what if Matt needed help? She wouldn't know until it was too late and she…

She couldn't lose him.

Mind made up, Anna stood up slowly, her fingers to tight around the hilt of her knife, her knuckles were beginning to ache. She took slow, silent steps – not an easy feat in a forest when the sun was almost completely gone from the sky. She heard a familiar snarling, and she quickly turned, but she couldn't see the walker. It sounded like it was coming from her right and she stood completely still, willing her heart to stop pounding so loud in her ears so she could hear things properly.

But then, there was a loud gunshot that cracked across the air and Anna jumped, spinning towards where the sound had come from. The fire.

"Matt!" She shouted for him before she could stop herself.

She then heard Spitz. Growling and barking and then a whine of pain. Anna took off running towards the fire – not caring about the walker still out there in the dark, probably coming towards the fire and all of the noise as well, or keeping her steps quiet – and she burst through the trees, coming upon the small campsite that someone had set up. She saw Matt and another man lying on the ground, struggling, wrestling with one another, and she saw Spitz on the ground, having been tossed there, but the animal was now standing up, shaking himself off, and then he lunged.

The man shouted with surprise and pain as Spitz sank his jaws into the man's arm and Matt, getting himself free, plunged his knife right into the side of the man's neck. Hearing the snarl again, Anna spun around and saw the walker step into the light, seeing all of them, hurrying its shuffled pace to get to them. Anna kicked her leg out, knocking the walker down on its knees and her knife sank into its skull.

She then spun back around and hurried to Matt and Spitz and the man now bleeding out. With little concern for the man, she pushed him off of Matt and then dropped down to her knees beside him. The man had been choking him and Matt now sat up, coughing and rubbing his throat. The man was still alive, slowly dying, gurgling on his own blood, but neither paid attention to him.

"Good boy," Matt coughed towards Spitz and then looked to Anna, frowning. "What the hell are you doing? I told you to stay back."

"I heard a gunshot," she frowned back.

Was he really going to scold her right now? Apparently.

"I don't care," Matt snapped. "What if something had happened to you? You think I-" he cut himself off abruptly before he could say something.

"Something almost happened to _you_ ," Anna snapped back. "What would I do then?"

Matt stared at her and she stared at him and she didn't care how old he thought he was or how young he thought she was. With her heart pounding again in her throat and her ears, Anna rushed herself forward and pressed her lips to his.

She was grateful more than she was expecting that he didn't push her away.

…

Beth and Rosita had just finished washing and drying the dishes when Carl stormed in. He didn't stop to talk with any of them. They all watched as he stomped past them and then up the stairs. A moment later, the door to the bedroom he was staying in slammed shut and Rosita rolled her eyes.

"Can't wait until the kids are that age," she muttered.

Beth frowned up towards the ceiling. "He's a little too old to be doing that," she said.

Rosita shrugged. "Yeah, but it's Carl."

Looking out the window over the sink, they could still see Bee attempting to jump her rope even though it was almost now completely dark out and then they saw the shape walk in from the fence and with the shape on its back, Beth knew it was Daryl. He headed straight towards their tree-house without coming back towards the cabin.

Beth picked up the hand towel next to the sink and dried her hands. "Do you mind watching Eli for me for a little bit?" She asked.

"Of course not," Rosita shook her head.

Beth looked and saw that the four – Spencer, Aiden, Aaron and Eli – were still at the table, playing what had to be their fourth game of Connect 4, Spencer and Aaron ribbing one another and Eli and Aiden excitedly calling out moves when they saw somewhere their next colored disc could go.

Eli didn't even seem to notice as Beth came and kissed him on the head before leaving the kitchen and heading outside. She put a gentle hand on Bee's head as she passed the little girl on her way to the tree-house. She climbed the steps and then climbed the stepladder, heading towards the door in the floor. When she pushed it open, she saw that Daryl had lit a few candles to give the room light and Buck was lying on the floor on the side of the bed, but he lifted his head when Beth came in.

Daryl had already taken off his boots and was now lying on their bed, a book in his hands. As she got close, she saw that he was reading _A Call of the Wild_ for a countless time. Without a word, she closed the door and then toed out of her own shoes, before climbing onto the bed. She didn't lie down beside him though. Instead, she sat right on top of him, settling down on his thighs.

Daryl lowered his book and looked at her with a raised eyebrow and she smiled.

"Need somethin'?" He asked, amusement obvious in his tone.

"Everything okay?" She asked in return.

"Kid just needs to grow up a lil' bit more," he answered with a shrug and Beth knew that that wasn't an answer at all, but she also knew that that was all she would be getting out of Daryl until he was ready to tell her more. "Your honey cake was really good tonight," he then said, swiftly switching topics.

"Thank you," Beth smiled and then lowered herself, beginning to pepper his jaw with feather-light kisses, her nose nuzzling his skin. She felt his hands sliding up her thighs to curve around her hips.

"Where's Eli?" He asked, his voice heavy and warm in her ear.

"A Connect 4 war is happening right now," Beth said, moving her lips down his throat and feeling him practically shiver beneath her. "I think it's safe to say he'll probably sleep in the cabin tonight."

She shrieked with laughter when Daryl cupped each cheek of her ass in his hands and swiftly flipped her over onto her back. She was still laughing as he took his turn and began kissing the side of her neck and she felt his lips curved into a smile against her skin.

"Daryl?" She whispered and there must have been a particular tone she used because he stopped to lift his head and look into her eyes. She gave him a small smile, looking into his face. "If I told you that I wanted to have another baby, what would you think about that?"

Once she asked it, Beth laid there and looked up at him and waited. She knew better than to force Daryl into talking about what he was thinking. It was obvious he was thinking and needed time to do so and it wouldn't do any good to rush him through it. She had more than perfected the art of being patient with Daryl Dixon over their years together.

Daryl didn't take his eyes off of her face as he searched for what he was looking for; an answer to some question he wasn't going to verbally ask her until he was ready.

Slowly, he lowered his lips back to her throat and his body settled a bit more on top of hers and it seemed as if he had decided.

"I think if you're sure," he whispered. "I'm sure."

…

* * *

 **Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to leave me comment!  
**


	34. Homestead

**A bit of a shorter chapter than what I usually write for this story, but it's honestly one of my favorites of the entire story. A lot of Beth kicking ass and I always love writing that. As always, thank you for your continued love and support of this epic of mine. And a huge thank you to the reviewer who suggested the Foxfire books. I love Appalachia and my mom actually wound up owning the first two and I have spent the past few days pouring over them. They were a huge help for this chapter and later ones to come.  
**

* * *

…

 **Chapter Thirty-four.** Homestead.

"Is this really that important?" Matt asked as Anna opened the door just enough for another walker from inside to slip out. "It's not like we can fire up the grill and make ourselves a cheeseburger."

Anna pointedly rolled her eyes at him and he grinned before sinking his knife into the walker's skull. She took a look through the dirty, dusty glass and then looked back to Matt. "Two more," she told him. "You ready?"

Matt nodded and she opened the door again for the next walker to stumble out. And as Matt killed that one, Anna opened the door for the last time and killed the last walker that had been holed up inside of the diner.

They had come over a hill and had seen the diner sitting at the bottom. The Sip-and-Bite Diner and Anna could tell that it had been built long before an actual paved road had been put through here; the road making a rather sharp curve to avoid the structure and Anna could just imagine how much fun that curve was on an icy day.

"We clear?" Matt asked as the walker dropped to the ground.

Anna nodded and then held the door open for him and once he took it, she went inside, Spitz trotting right on her heels, following her, his nose instantly to the floor, sniffing, seeing if there was the scent of anything he could follow. It was grey inside with light trying to push through and everything was covered in a layer of dust. After clearing out the five walkers that had been in here, everything now was deafly silent. There were a couple of reasons she wanted to come in here though.

One, they had been hearing thunder rumble off in the distance for the better part of the entire afternoon and Anna could feel the wind change and smell the incoming rain and she wanted to make sure they had a pretty decent roof over their head.

And two, places like this had more supplies than a person would think.

As Matt closed the door and tried the lock, Anna headed right behind the counter. And sure enough, what she was looking for was right there, behind the counter. Boxes of sugar packets and boxes of salt packets. She closed her eyes and sighed with relief when she saw them. She couldn't wait to take them back to Beth.

She lifted her head to see Matt still standing at the door, looking out.

"Are we good?" She asked him.

He turned his eyes towards her and gave a single nod. "We're good. You find anything good?" He asked, finally stepping away from the door to come towards her.

Anna couldn't help but smile as she nodded quickly. "Sugar and salt for Beth."

Matt stood on the other side of the counter, looking down at the boxes and he didn't say anything for a passing moment. But they had been with one another for a few weeks now and Anna know that he was silent now only because he did have something to say and he was just trying to figure out how he could say it.

Anna gave him time to get his thoughts straight and she turned to see what else she could find. Sugar and salt were huge and finding flour would be just as amazing. She began opening the cabinets around the large flat-iron grill behind the counter. Most of the cans had been gone through – lying on the floor in empty piles. The walkers who had been in here had obviously been surviving on those before they died.

She almost squealed when she found three containers of flour. Oh my goodness, _three_. What a find! There were hardly any finds like this anymore. She wondered if she and Matt would be able to carry all three containers and if not, she would have to take note of the location of this diner so she and Daryl and the others could come back here and get the rest.

"What are they going to think about me?" Matt finally spoke from behind her.

Anna turned around to look at him.

"Your family," he clarified as if she needed him to. "What are they going to think about me once they see that you've brought me back with you?"

Anna looked at him for a moment and he seemed genuinely concerned and worried over that though she didn't know why he would. She slowly walked around the counter and came to stand in front of him. She didn't touch him. They may have already kissed one another, but Anna wasn't too sure what the next step was. She had obviously never done anything like this before. Matt was her first kiss and anything she knew about relationships were from the books she read.

For a brief moment, she wondered if Matt had ever read _Northanger Abbey_ by Jane Austen. She doubted it.

She wished Matt would touch her – somehow in some way – but ever since their kiss, Matt had kept a frustratingly polite distance from her. She wanted to ask him why though she found – that for some reason – her bravery left her when it came to that. She wanted to go home and talk with Beth and Rosita about all of this. They would be able to explain things to her.

"They'll see that I found a good person to bring back with me," she told him.

Matt snorted softly at that and it was no surprise to her that that would be his reaction. He always reacted like that when she told him that he was good, but she didn't understand why it would. He hadn't been with a good group, yes, and he had done some not-so-good things himself, yes, but he had decided to get himself away from it and try and make it on his own and that spoke louder volumes than anything in the past.

At least to her, it did.

"And they'll see how much you mean to me," Anna added in a softer voice; nearly a whisper, and her eyes started to shyly look away from his.

She didn't look, but she felt him take a step closer to her, all but making the space between them disappear. She then nearly shivered when Matt's hand slowly slipped up the side of her neck and his thumb brushed across the line of her jaw.

"You're too young to say things like to me and your family is going to think the same exact thing," Matt said to her in a low voice.

All shyness disappeared and she felt a warm anger immediately appearing in the bottom of her stomach. But when Anna turned her head back to tell him that that was bullshit – to ask him what age even meant anymore – Matt kissed her before she could open her mouth to speak any of that.

…

Daryl had trapped an opossum and instead of killing it, he kept it in the tool shed for three days and fed it peaches from a tree they had found growing in the town at the base of the mountain. Opossum meat wasn't the best tasting meat, but opossum meat after the animal had been feasting on peaches for days tasted infinitely times better.

It was probably the only thing Daryl had ever learned from his dad an infinity ago.

Once killed, Daryl cleaned it and Beth took the fat, simmering it and boiling it down in a pot on the stove. The meat would be roasted in the oven. And then with Bee helping her, standing on a chair at her side, Beth cracked two eggs gently on the flat surface of the kitchen table, breaking the eggs open with the utmost care and then gently rocking the yolk back and forth from shell to shell, separating the egg whites. She set the egg yolks aside and she would make thick vanilla corn cakes for later.

She handed the bottle of vegetable oil to Bee.

"Remember how I showed you?" Beth asked and the little girl nodded her head, unscrewing the cap from the bottle. "You ready?"

Bee nodded and leaned in closer to the bowl of egg whites. She then put her thumb over the bottle's opening so the oil wouldn't be able to pour out; rather allow it to trickle out gently. Beth nodded her head and Bee began to pour and as she did, Beth began stirring the egg whites with her whisk as quickly as she could. It went on for nearly a minute: Bee trickling out the vegetable oil and Beth whisking it all together.

Once it looked to be the right consistency, Beth started to slow down, her arm burning. "Alright, Bee. That might be enough," she said and Bee immediately stopped pouring and held the bottle to her chest. Beth took the little bottle of lemon juice they had found a few trips ago to some of the other houses on the mountain and poured in a small amount before starting to whisk that in as well.

"Want to taste?" She then offered and smiled as Bee leaned forward and wiped her finger along the side of the bowl, bringing it to her mouth and licking it off. "Verdict?" Beth asked her.

"Delicious!" Bee declared and Beth laughed.

"Good," Beth said and tried a little bit of the mayonnaise with her own finger.

It _was_ pretty good and that made her smile to herself. It would help with the opossum meat. She was planning on them having sandwiches for dinner. She had baked some bread and they had a little head of cabbage – the "runt" of their cabbage crop so far – and with the mayonnaise and the crunch of the cabbage, they would have proper opossum sandwiches.

She shook her whisking arm out a few times and then took the bottle of vegetable oil from Bee, screwing the cap back on before walking to return it to the shelf.

"Want to keep helping in here or do you want to help in the garden?" Beth asked.

Spencer was out in the forest, chopping wood, Daryl and Carl had taken the sheep from the barn to let them graze for a bit outside of their fence, and Rosita and Aaron, along with Eli and Aiden, were taking the animal manure and spreading it around their garden to help with fertilize their crops.

"Here!" Bee answered, climbing down from the chair. Beth smiled, not able to judge the girl for her choice. Spreading the manure wasn't a pleasant job – for obvious reasons – but like emptying out the bucket in the outhouse, it was a necessary one.

"Well," Beth looked over the kitchen and everything that had to be done. She checked on the opossum fat in the pot on the stove. "We'll make the elderflower fritters right before dinner. How about we get started on our jars of mint jelly?"

Bee nodded eagerly and Beth went down into the root cellar to collect some of their glass jars. Mint jelly helped clear their stuffed noses and tender throats in the winter when they ate it for breakfast on bread. Bee worked alongside Beth at the table, everything they needed spread out before them.

"Now remember," Beth said as they worked. "Do not boil the actual leaves. Just the water. And then you pour the boiling water over the leaves and let them set for a while in the bowl."

Bee nodded, listening, as she took the mint leaves from the plants they had plucked earlier that morning and began placing them in bowls for Beth to pour the water, boiling at the fire, over them.

Once the leaves had set long enough, Beth then poured everything through a strainer into a pot. She added sugar and then carried the pot to the stove to cook until it jelled. Even with all of the windows in the cabin open and both front and back doors, it was becoming quite stifling inside, but it was unavoidable. They had to can in the later summer to get themselves prepared for winter.

After they had canned four jars of the mint jelly, Beth carried them down to the root cellar before returning with a few more glass jars. They then began work on their raspberry preserves. They used flour just about every day, but they were able to grind down corn and acorns for more flour to be used as well as the white flour. But with sugar, Beth always did her best to ration it, because someday, she would be gone, but Bee would still need to can.

She did experiments and tried to see how much sugar she could actually use instead of following the recipes when they called for a whole pound of it.

For the raspberry preserves, they put them into the kettle and measured one pint of water, putting that in with it. They boiled it for about ten minutes – or what Beth thought was ten minutes. She judged by how tender the berries got. She then poured out almost all of the juice, making sure at least 1/3 of it remained and then added just a half a cup of sugar to the berries before returning it to the fire and boiling until the syrup was thick. Raspberry preserves were some of their favorites – and usually ate them with lavender bread in the winter to help combat the tartness – and even now as she helped seal them in the jars, Beth could see Bee smacking her lips.

"Let me check on how the opossum is doing and then you can get everyone in here for dinner," Beth said as she went to the oven, crouching down to open the door to peek into the meat on the baking sheet. For how unappetizing – and slightly terrifying it could be – the creature was while alive, the meat _did_ smell good as it roasted away; especially since Daryl had done his peach diet on the animal.

Beth took her oven mitts, tugging them on and began pulling the sheet out. "Bee, can you get everyone without shouting? And make sure everyone washes their hands."

Bee ran out the door and Beth set the tray down the counter, looking over every piece of meat, making sure that they were all cooked through. She then checked on the opossum fat simmering on the stove. It was certainly hot enough now. Beth went to get the basket of elderberry flowers she had picked that morning along with the mint and raspberries and carefully, she began dipping the flowers into the hot fat.

Eli and Aiden both ran in through the back door.

"Hi, mama," Eli greeted, sweating and smelling less than great, but he was smiling.

"Hi, baby," Beth smiled as she carefully pulled the first flower from the fat with the tongs and set it aside to cool, sprinkling it with the tiniest amount of sugar before dipping in the next.

Both boys came right to the sink where they shared the step stool and Eli pumped the handle first as Aiden washed his hands and then Aiden did the same so Eli could wash his. Rosita and Aaron then came in then.

"Oh god," Rosita said when she saw the cabbage, bread and bowl of mayonnaise on the table, her eyes lighting. "Didn't they say the world was over?" She asked Aaron. "I'm pretty sure that's what they said."

Aaron grinned and Beth laughed as they went to the sink to wash their hands once Eli and Aiden left to go and sit at the table.

" _And_ deep-fried elderberry flowers for dessert? What's the special occasion?" Rosita asked once she saw what Beth was doing at the stove next to her.

"We had the fat and with all of the work we've been doing, I thought we could all use the treat," Beth confirmed.

Beth carried the tray of meat to the table and soon enough, everyone else had come in from their work outside and after washing their hands, everyone sat down in their usual spots at the table. Daryl sat at the head and Beth sat on his right. Aaron sat at the other head with Spencer to his right and Rosita to his left and Carl and the kids filling in the rest of the chairs.

She smiled, blushing faintly, when Daryl leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, his hand slipping beneath the table to give her knee a gentle squeeze.

"You can make mayonnaise?" Carl asked, looking at the bowl with both doubt and a little bit of curiosity as well as a spark of hunger in his eyes.

"I helped!" Bee proudly said as Rosita helped her make a sandwich.

"Mama can make anything," Eli informed Carl, matter-of-factly and with a slight frown; as if offended that Carl didn't already know that.

"Thank you, Eli," Beth said with a smile and kissed her son's head. She then looked back to Carl. "After we eat, Daryl and I would like to show you something in the woods," she said and Carl nodded, his mouth too full to give a verbal answer.

They ate every bit of the meat, bread and cabbage and Spencer made sure the bowl of mayonnaise was completely clean. They then helped themselves to the fried Elderberry fritters for their dessert.

"How the hell did you get so good at this kind of stuff?" Carl asked as he crunched.

Beth shrugged. "Mulligan's family had done it long before the world ended and they had put together their own books. And I have my own that I've been writing in for all of these years. I just experiment and see what we can do…"

"Gotta learn how to live off the land now," Daryl said. "We should 'ave all been learnin' this stuff a long time ago."

Carl didn't say anything to that, taking another elderberry fritter. He wasn't an idiot and knew what Daryl meant. And he agreed that his dad and Negan and everyone else seemed to be so hung up on canned goods and old medicines. Carl knew they had to find other ways to live. He wasn't like Beth and Daryl though or any of the others up here. He wouldn't even know where to begin.

"Can I come?" Eli asked, pulling on Daryl's hand after they were finished eating and the others were helping clear the table away to wash all of the dishes.

"Not this time," Daryl answered with a shake of his head. "This is some grownup stuff, but we'll be back soon. You be good."

He bent down and kissed his son's head and then with his crossbow, he and Carl headed outside. Beth, with her basket, kissed Eli on the head and wrapped him up in her arms for a tight, quick squeeze.

"We'll be back soon," she promised him. "Maybe you can read something to the others out loud?" She suggested.

"That sounds good, Eli," Aaron agreed. "Are you reading anything right now?"

" _20,000 Leagues Under the Sea_ ," Eli nodded, still a little disappointed that he couldn't come with his parents, doing whatever they would be doing in the woods with Carl.

"Aaron will come with you so you can get it from your bed," Beth said. She then kissed his head again. "Be good," she echoed Daryl's words and then followed her husband and Carl to where they were waiting for her at the gate.

The sun was slowly heading towards the western horizon line, but there was still plenty of light for what they needed to do. And Lily had decided to join them on whatever little journey they were taking that evening.

"Unless you have an army of fifty men over the other side of this hill that I can take back with me, I don't know what you have for me out here," Carl said as they climbed upwards.

"Don't be a smart ass," Daryl grumbled.

Beth easily kept up and when she reached the top of the ledge, she looked out for what she needed. "There they are," Beth said to them both and began slowly heading down the other side, Daryl right behind her, and Carol bringing up the rear.

Beth stopped at a lush carpet of tall, thin white flowering plants. She knelt down and began plucking the small red berries that grew on the plants along with the bell-shaped flowers.

"Come here, Carl," she said and not able to help but be curious, Carl went to her and knelt down next to her as Daryl remained standing, keeping watch, his eyes scanning over their surroundings; Lily seeming to do the same. Carl watched as Beth plucked the red berries, putting them in her basket. "This is Lily of the Valley," she said, lifting her eyes to look at him.

And for a moment, Carl was reminded of how big of a crush he used to have on her. Back at the farm and at the prison. Back then, it had never felt like there was some huge age difference between them. But after they had lost the prison to the Governor, he had run one way and she had wound up running another and now, she was able to do so many things and Carl still felt like some little kid around her, trying his best to show off to her and get her to smile.

"The entire plant is extremely poisonous," Beth told him. "Even ingesting just a small part of it can cause abdominal pain, vomiting, confusion and a reduced heart rate, just to name a few."

Carl was perked up now with attention. He looked quickly back to Daryl over his shoulder and the man nodded before jerking his head towards Beth, signaling to him that he better pay close attention. Carl turned back towards Beth and did just that.

Beth held up one of the red berries for Carl to see in the fading sunlight. "You're going to take these berries back with you, Carl," she said and her eyes looked almost black as the sun continued to sink lower in the sky. She looked dangerous. Carl had never seen Beth ever look like that.

"And the next time you see Negan, you're going to fix him a delicious fruity drink. And then, you're going to give him a heart attack and kill him."

…

* * *

 **I will make up for the lack of Daryl and Beth together in this chapter with the next one, I promise!  
**

 **Thank you for reading and please take a moment to leave a review!**


	35. Return

**I know many of you want me to follow Carl and what happens with Negan, but this story was never supposed to be about that. I just wanted to give Carl a way of getting rid of Negan without being stupid about it. I plan on staying in the mountains with Daryl, Beth and their new family. I am very sorry if I have disappointed some of you. I am thinking this story will be about 40 chapters. Definitely my epic.  
**

* * *

…

 **Chapter Thirty-five.** Return.

Beth was lying on her stomach on their bed, propped up on her elbows, and Daryl was behind her, straddling her thighs, angling her hips a little so he could easily slide into her. And when he did and she felt him part her and fill her, the breath caught in Beth's throat and a soft gasp escaped. Daryl's lips brushed across her shoulder blades and she felt his exhales of breath against the back of her head, rustling her hair.

He started out slow, thrusting gently into her, his hands holding her butt cheeks apart as he dove into her over and over again, slowly gaining speed, and Beth's fingers curled around the sides of the pillow, needing to hold onto it as she moaned a bit louder.

Beth had no idea if the others knew that she and Daryl had talked about having another baby. Neither of them had mentioned it to any of them; not feeling a need to unless they _did_ become pregnant and there was something then to talk about.

But after breakfast, Beth had said that she was going to strip the beds in the tree-house so she could wash the sheets down at the creek and Daryl said that he would help and maybe they saw the way Daryl was looking at her or the way Beth's cheeks flushed and maybe they had all been together for so long, there was no keeping secrets. Maybe they knew they wanted another baby or maybe they just thought that Daryl and Beth wanted some early morning delight. So when Eli said that he would help, too, Rosita had swiftly swooped in and said it was time to start the kids' lessons for the day.

Beth admitted that she was honestly surprised when Daryl had agreed to try for another baby. And she admitted that she was honestly terrified and yet, having another baby – at least trying for one – just felt right to her and maybe it felt right to, Daryl, too. Beth knew that he loved her more than anything so maybe he was just going along with this because he knew that it was what she wanted.

She thought of their little Ruby. She'd be about six-months old right now and Beth sometimes liked to imagine what she would look like. She liked to imagine that like Eli, she would be a mini-Daryl and she would be a happy baby and they would all smile as she let out her babyish little giggles at everything. She would have made everyone so happy just because she was a baby in this new world and no matter how hard it was to have a baby now, it was still a miracle and a way to show that the world kept turning and that they were doing more than surviving. They were living.

She wanted another baby for all of those reasons, but she wanted another baby because ever since she lost Ruby, she had felt this emptiness and ache inside of her that couldn't seem to be quenched. And she loved Eli more than her own life. Eli was her first baby, her pride and joy, but when Ruby died, it felt as if something had died inside of Beth right along with her baby girl and she didn't know how to get it back.

"Fuck, Beth," Daryl grunted in her ear as he began picking up speed and Beth bit down on her bottom lip to keep from crying out. "Does it feel good, Beth?" He asked and she frantically nodded her head.

Holy shit, did it feel good.

Daryl slid a hand down the side of her body and slipped it between her and the bed so he could begin rubbing gentle circles on her clit. And when he did that, Beth's hips bucked up and she moaned loudly as Daryl began moving even faster.

She white-knuckled the pillow and came with a cry of his name, her body trembling and clenching around his and within a dozen more thrusts, Daryl came deep inside of her, his own body shaking as he emptied himself and she squeezed around him, making sure that not a single drop was wasted.

Daryl bent over, his breath heavy and panting against her back, and he kissed the side of her throat – wet and open-mouthed – before he slipped from her, Beth whimpering as she always did when he did because she always just felt so empty, and collapsed next to her. Still on her stomach, she slid her arms beneath her pillow and turned her head towards him, watching as he laid there, taking a moment to catch his breath. Feeling her eyes on him, he turned his own head to look at her and she gave him a little smile.

"Wha'?" He asked.

Beth shook her head and kept smiling a soft smile. "I'm really happy," she told him.

"Yeah?" Daryl asked as if he had been expecting her to be something else. She smiled and nodded again. "Good," he then said.

"And are you?" She found herself having to ask him in return because sometimes – and she will never admit it to him – but sometimes, she worried about it.

Sometimes, she wondered how it would have been if they had escaped the prison and hadn't stopped to lay down a little bit of roots and had kept looking for their family instead. Did he sometimes regret that? Especially now that they knew about the pain and suffering that they had been going through without them for all of these years? They had a good life here – as good as a life can be nowadays – but she remembered how angry and guilt-ridden Daryl used to be all of the time and sometimes, even after all of this time and after everything they had been through together, Beth worried that maybe she had forced him into all of these things.

"You think I'm not?" Daryl asked her, breaking through her thoughts.

Beth shook her head slightly and rested it down on the pillow, still keeping her eyes on him. "I sometimes worry," she admitted to him, feeling embarrassed now that she had said the words out loud.

Daryl looked at her as if she was crazy because haven't they had this conversation before? How could she not know that he was happy? How could she not know that this was the happiest he had ever been in his miserable life and before running off with her as the prison burned behind them, he never thought this kind of happiness – especially for a guy like him – was possible?

Beth was the mother of his kid – hopefully, _kids_ – and she was his wife. But more than that, Beth was his partner in every definition of the word. Without her, he would have been dead a long time ago. This, all of this that they had now, it was because of her. She pushed him to do better, to want more, and she did everything she could to show him that it was alright to want more. Not just for her and Eli and the rest of their family here with them, but for himself, too.

Was Daryl happy? He was pretty sure a word hadn't been invented in the English language that would explain just how happy he was.

He rolled towards her then and his arm slipped over the dip of her hip, winding around her lower back, bringing her body flat against his. "You've gone and lost your damn mind, girl," he told her in a gruff, low voice and Beth let out a soft laugh. He leaned in, his nose brushing affectionately against her cheek, near the corner of her mouth. "You're my whole life, Beth," he then whispered to her.

Beth's fingers weaved through his hair and she pressed her lips to his in a soft kiss. It still amazed her how this man could make her heart flutter even after all of these years together and going through everything they had through together.

Her mind wandered to her mom and daddy for a moment and she wondered if Annette Greene's heart had still fluttered when Hershel had done or said something sweet or if after being married for nearly seventeen years, that had worn off. Beth couldn't imagine – didn't want to imagine – not getting a fluttering heart around Daryl.

"I want a baby girl," Beth said then, switching the subject.

"Damn, woman," he gave her a frown he didn't mean. "I'm not a machine. Gotta give me a minute to catch my breath."

Beth laughed and shook her head before kissing him again. "I didn't mean right this second," she said, still laughing. "I just meant… in general. I want a baby girl."

"Me, too," Daryl admitted. "I mean, I wanna a healthy kid with ten fingers and ten toes and I'd love a lil' boy just as much, but yeah... a lil' girl."

"It was hard with Bee," Beth felt the need to remind him.

 _So_ hard because Eli and Aiden had had baby clothes, but by the time Bee had come around, everything had been too worn and frayed for her to wear so they had to find her more things and it really did sometimes feel as if there was nothing left in the world for them to find and take.

Daryl pressed his lips to between her eyebrows. "We'll figure it out if we have to."

 _We always do_ , he added those words silently, but they were a given and they hung in the air between them as if he had indeed spoken them.

"I really like the name Lucy," Beth then said, closing her eyes as his lips remained resting against her forehead and in this position, she felt him immediately stiffen.

"Wha'?" He asked after a pregnant pause and his voice sounded as if he had just lost it; hoarse and rough in the back of his throat.

Beth pulled her head back so she could look into his face. "If we have a girl, I was thinking that Lucy Dixon would be a good name. We can think of others, of course. We don't have to use Lucy at all. I just like how it sounds."

Daryl was staring at her and he was going pale. She quickly sat up and her hands went to his cheeks, wondering what was wrong with him all of a sudden and her mind scrambling for what herbs she could give him right now.

"Daryl-" she began to say, beginning to feel frantic.

"Lucy was my ma's name," he then said and that instantly explained his reaction to it. "Her middle name. I…" whatever he was going to say died in his throat though.

"I didn't know," Beth whispered, her hands slowly slipping down from his cheeks to his chest. She knew the woman's first name had been Donna, but nothing other than that. She had had absolutely no idea that Lucy had had any connection for Daryl. "We won't use it. _Of course_ we won't use it. We'll think of something else. When I was pregnant with Eli, I had thought of Cecily for a girl."

She was speaking quickly right now, she knew, but she wanted to quickly veer him away from the memories that she had inadvertently let flood into his mind.

She didn't know much about Daryl's childhood – even after all of these years, he wouldn't say much, but she knew the scars on his back said more than enough – but what she did know was this. While his dad had been a horrible man – drunk and mean and who beat Daryl nearly every day of his young life, Donna Dixon hadn't been that much better. A drunk as well who forgot that she had a young son most days – too caught up in her own alcohol and sadness to pay any attention.

"Cecily Dixon is perfect. Or maybe Cecilia," Beth said. "Don't you think?"

Daryl visibly swallowed and he looked up at her for a long moment. "Yeah," he nodded and swallowed again. "I like either of those a lot more," he said and she smiled faintly, leaning back down and kissing him.

Daryl sat up then and his hands slid onto her cheeks, holding onto her face, as he kissed her again. And again, his mouth slanting over hers. But before he could lower her back onto her back on the bed – which was clearly where these kisses were leading – they heard one of their wolves bark. And then the other. Barking and howling and making such a racket, Daryl flew from the bed, still naked, and went to the window that overlooked their yard to see what had their attention. Spencer and Aaron were both trying to get them to quiet down, but Lily and Buck were still wolves – no matter how domesticated they might have seemed to be – and no one was stupid enough to put any limb too close to them when they were acting like the wild animals they still were.

Spencer opened the gate to let them run out and Daryl hurriedly began dressing himself. Maybe it was a walker. Or a bunch of walkers. Maybe the wolves were about to bring a damn herd down on their heads.

Beth hurried out of bed, too, and they were both dressed again in a matter of minutes before Daryl grabbed his crossbow and was flying down the ladder and then the steps with Beth right on his heels.

Spencer and Aaron had run out after Lily and Buck and Daryl ran after them, Beth quickly closing the gate behind them so the yard would stay protected and then hurried towards the cabin to make sure everyone else was alright.

As Daryl ran, that was when he heard it. A third howl. Another wolf, answering the calls of Lily and Buck. Was that… Did that mean…

Daryl didn't allow that line of thinking to continue because if it turned out not to be true, he would be hit with just how damn much he – and all of them – missed her and they had done so good all summer, not letting themselves linger on those kinds of thoughts too often.

But then, he ran over one of the hills and saw Spencer and Aaron at the bottom of it, both hugging someone – someone with a head of blonde as her head was buried between the chests of the two men – and Daryl saw the third wolf, Spitz, and Lily and Buck greeting him. There was also a man standing a couple feet away, keeping his distance as he watched the reunion, but Daryl didn't think about him. Not right this second. Right this second, he only saw – and could only think about – Anna.

Anna had come home.

He nearly slid down the entire side of the hill to get to them as quickly as he could.

"Daryl!" Anna saw him coming and Spencer and Aaron let her go so Anna could go running towards Daryl. The force of her body crashing into his knocked him back a step, but he held his ground and he dropped his crossbow to the ground so he could wrap both arms around her and hug her.

"Holy shit," Daryl breathed and Anna laughed and Christ, that sound. He had been listening to this girl laugh since she was six and he was just now hit with how much he had missed the sound.

She had only been gone for a few months – a little over three – but now that she was back, Daryl realized how much of an eternity it had been.

"Wasn't expecting me today, huh?" Anna teased him as she stepped from their hug.

"Wasn' expectin' you anytime soon," he admitted, stooping down to pick up his crossbow and then Spitz was there, nudging his hand, expecting a greeting, too. Daryl smiled as he gave the wolf a good rub behind his ears. "Hey, boy. You take care of her for us?" He asked and the wolf's tail was waving back and forth so quickly, it looked just like a grey streak through the air.

"You told me to get home by fall," Anna reminded him. "I figured Beth's been canning for a couple of weeks now and the sheep will have to get their summer coats sheered and each morning is feeling cooler than the last."

"I think you've gotten taller," Aaron smiled and Anna rolled her eyes, but hugged Aaron again, the man squeezing her and kissing her on the head.

"We've brought a lot of stuff back with us," Anna said, smiling at Daryl.

Daryl took the opening. "We?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

Anna's smile didn't falter as she turned and left the three men to go to the fourth, who was still standing away from them, looking uncertain and a little nervous. Anna smiled up at him and whispered something and then taking his hand, she turned back to Daryl, Spencer and Aaron.

"This is Matt."

Daryl, Spencer and Aaron all stared at the man and didn't say anything.

"I've brought him back so he could live with us," she said.

"With you, you mean," Spencer said and for a rare time, the man was serious, his face without a smile and his arms were crossed over his chest.

Anna blushed, but she didn't let go of Matt's hand. "Yes," she answered without denying it; seeing no point in doing such a thing.

"What? You bring back the first guy you find?" Daryl said before he could stop himself and damn it, this was not how the reunion was supposed to go when Anna finally got back home, but how did she think it would be when she brought some strange guy back with her?

Anna didn't say anything. She just glared at all three men and then gripping Matt's hand, she tugged him forward. "I'm going to go see the others," she told them in a voice as cold as ice.

Daryl, Spencer and Aaron were all smart enough to look at least a little guilty.

…

Matt smiled a little as the three children were so eager with Anna being back, they all tackled her down on the ground, hugging her, and they were shouting, all talking over each other, wanting her attention, and Anna was laughing, hugging and kissing all of them.

And then he watched as Rosita and Beth hugged her, much like Spencer and Aaron had; all together and tears were flowing freely as the three women clung onto one another, looking as if they would never let her go.

"This is Matt," Anna introduced him for the second time. "This is Beth and Rosita. Aiden, Eli and Bee."

This time, Matt was able to find his voice. "Hello," he managed to say.

At least Rosita and Beth weren't glaring daggers at him, and clearly wishing for his death, and the kids were looking at him with open curiosity.

"Hi, Matt," Rosita said after a moment, stepping forward and offering him her hand, and Matt was more than happy to shake it.

"Nice to meet you all," Matt said and Beth smiled warmly at him.

"You both must be starving," she said and Matt found himself being ushered through the back door into the kitchen of the cabin.

He followed Anna's lead and took off his pack from his back and sat down in the chair next to Anna, not wanting to leave her side. He wasn't welcome here – that was obvious – and he wasn't going to cause a rift between Anna and her family. They would probably sit her down and explain to her that he couldn't stay and Matt knew that he probably wouldn't put up a fight. He didn't belong here. Anna might have been the one to find him at the mine, but ever since that first morning, he felt like he had been the one just tagging along. This girl had taken pity on his ignorant ass and made sure he stayed alive.

He knew Anna liked him and hell. He liked her, too. _Really_ liked her, but that didn't mean that he wasn't in his late twenties and she was only sixteen. What the hell did that say about him where he was able to feel himself be attracted to a girl her age?

Her family would say all of this to her and Matt wouldn't be able to disagree. Beth would probably feed him and then they would send him on his way.

He expected it.

He watched as Beth stirred something in a pot on the stove. There were bushels of flowers and plants hanging from the rafters, drying out, and there were empty glass jars on the table, ready to be filled with something, and jars of cooking supplies – spices and flours – lined the shelf next to the window. The whole cabin smelled of a mixture of cinnamon, wood, and mint and _home_.

"Matt and me were able to find stuff to bring back," Anna was saying, standing up to place her own pack onto the table. "And there's even more out there, but we didn't have enough arms to get it all."

"We'll get back out there," Rosita said. "We'll take the kids' wagon though. We haven't taken Blackie out in months."

"How is he?" Anna asked as she began pulling things from her pack.

"Slow. We just have him out in the yard so he can graze around and help keep the grass short," Beth said and Anna nodded sadly, not saying anything to that.

Matt wished that he could look into her eyes and figure out what she was thinking.

She cleared her throat then as if clearing her mind. "Um, Beth this is for you."

She pulled out the boxes of sugar and salt packets and a bottle of vegetable oil they had found. Beth gasped when she saw it all and hugged Anna tightly before looking over the finds with eagerness.

"There's flour and more oil from a diner we found," Anna told them. "That's one of the places we want to go back to." She reached into her pack and pulled out a bolt of fabric. "Rosita," she said and Rosita looked at the black fabric, slowly running her hand over it as if almost too afraid to touch it. Without a word, Rosita wrapped her up into a tight hug. "We have things for Daryl, Spencer and Aaron, too."

"And us?" Aiden almost demanded.

"Aiden," Rosita frowned at him and Aiden instantly looked sheepish.

Matt stood up without a word and put his own pack onto the table next to Anna's.

"Anna said you might like these. Don't know if all of the pieces are in there, but you could still have fun with it," Matt said as he pulled out a small tin can of Lincoln Logs and handed them to the eldest boy, who looked at them curiously, having never seen such a thing before.

"Oh god, your dad is going to love those, too," Rosita almost laughed.

"And, uh, this is for Eli," Matt said and pulled out a Nerf gun next. "We were only able to find one ball for it though."

Beth smiled as her son eagerly took his new toy, looking it over, recognizing the shape of the gun, but not knowing what this one would do. "Here, baby," she offered. She showed him where to push the ball in and then she pulled back the "trigger" and then, pointing towards the open back door, she fired and Eli gasped as the ball went sailing. "Watch out. We're all target practice now," she smiled at them as Eli went running outside to get the ball back.

"And for Bee," Matt finished, reaching into his pack one last time, feeling a little like Santa Claus right now. Toys had been the easiest thing to find in whatever house he and Anna stumbled upon. No one was looking for toys anymore. "She's a little dirty so she'll have to be washed-"

"She's perfect!" Bee exclaimed the instant she held the doll in her arms. "Thank you!"

Matt wasn't too sure what to do when Bee suddenly rushed forward to hug his leg and he looked to Anna for a little help, but Anna was just watching with a smile.

For lunch, Beth had baked a loaf of lavender bread, had made a bowl of goat cheese with dill, and a light chicory soup that Matt swore he could taste a hint of ginger cooked into it, too. She also made blueberry juice, sprinkling cinnamon over the top of each before serving each at the table a glass. The three men – Daryl, Aaron and Spencer – were all back now, eating lunch – and Matt was well aware of all of them watching him as he did his best to eat his food without resembling too much of a wild animal, but holy shit. There was bread and cheese. What was this magic place Anna had brought him back to?

"Where are you from originally?" Spencer asked, startling him.

Matt made sure he swallowed before answering. "DC," he answered.

"It the promised land everyone was thinkin' it was?" Daryl grunted.

That was one answer to one question Matt didn't even have to think about before giving. "No," was all he said, but it was more than enough for everyone at the table.

Daryl stared at the man sitting next to Anna. He noticed that he hadn't left her side since their arrival – not that Daryl could blame him. Even when Anna had gone to the outhouse, Matt had lingered just a few feet away. Daryl figured it was probably because he was nervous around all of these people he didn't know, in a strange place he had never seen before. But Daryl also remembered the way he and Beth were after the prison and how they had been one another's sole companions and hadn't liked to have one out of the other's sight for too long.

And Daryl supposed he could show a little understanding. After all, he was older than Beth and there were probably more years between them than there were between Matt and Anna. But there was one huge difference. He knew Beth when she was sixteen and had hardly looked at her then. At least when Beth first kissed him, she was of legal age. Daryl wasn't going to think about how technically, legal age didn't exist anymore. Daryl was going to think about how this was Anna and she was the daughter to all of them. They couldn't just let some older guy come in and be with her.

He knew that Anna had wanted love, but if she was in love with this guy, it was wrong and it wasn't going to happen. It was probably just a passing infatuation since she probably hadn't seen anyone else in the three months since she had been gone.

"This diner where you said there was more supplies," Aaron spoke. "Do you two remember where it is?"

"Yes," Anna said, handing Aiden another slice of bread as he reached over her in an attempt to get to the plate himself. "We took note of the road it was on so if we get Mulligan's old map, we can find it again."

"Good," Daryl spoke before anyone else could. "Tomorrow, me, Spencer and Aaron will go and Matt," The man's eyes jumped up to look at him. "You'll come with us."

…

* * *

 **Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to leave a review!**

 **And thank you to rckyfrk for the line Daryl says about bringing back the first boy she meets.**


	36. Bond

**Some male quality time in this chapter. As this story winds down, I will focus more on Beth and Daryl in the next chapter. Thank you so much to those who continue to read and support and love this story. I can't explain how happy I get, writing this one.**

* * *

…

 **Chapter Thirty-six.** Bond. **  
**

Beth made cattail pancakes for breakfast the next morning in honor of Anna coming home – safe and sound – and since Matt had never heard of such a thing, he found himself standing with Beth in the kitchen, watching her, and Beth didn't mind at all.

She boiled the roots down until they almost looked like a gruel and then she left it to dry. She mixed egg, milk and salt together along with the gruel and then dropped them into the well-oiled cast-iron skillet she had on the stove. She served them with blueberries and they had even tapped their own syrup from the trees – Anna saying it had taken them years and they had just had syrup for the past couple of winters now because it took so much tree sap to make a little bit of syrup. Matt sat, eating his pancakes and syrup, finding himself wondering, and not for the first time since he and Anna got here the day before, where the hell he was.

As they all helped clean up after eating, Daryl looked to Matt.

"Get your stuff ready," Daryl told him. "We're gonna be leavin' as soon as we can."

Matt nodded and went back towards the couch in the living room, where he had slept the night before. The kids were getting their notebooks and pencils for their usual lessons to be held at the kitchen table and as Daryl and Aaron stepped outside, Spencer helped Beth wash the dishes, Rosita sat in the chair in the living room, picking up on some mending she had to do, and Anna followed Matt to the couch.

"You don't have to pack everything," she told him after watching him for a moment, repacking everything into his pack to take with him.

Matt didn't look at her as he made sure he had everything with him. There was no way he would be coming back. At least he had gotten a full stomach from breakfast that morning. He was already thinking of his next meal. Maybe he'd camp out at the diner for a while. That had been a good enough place and he, Anna and Spitz had gotten through the storm just fine. It wasn't like he had anywhere else to get to.

"Matt," Anna said his name in a whisper as if she could read his mind and actually, if Anna did actually have that ability, it wouldn't surprise him.

She reached out then to touch his arm, but Matt took a step back so she couldn't touch him. He could feel Rosita watching them and he didn't know what she thought about him, but he could only imagine what her husband had told her last night.

"Matt," Anna said again, the hurt evident on her face, and she took a step towards him, but Matt shook his head, cutting her off, and without a word or another look towards her, he hefted his pack onto his back and turned away from her.

The kids were at the kitchen table, Aiden and Eli taking turns as they read about Charlemagne and the Saxon Wars, of all things, from their shared history book and Bee was working on her spelling flashcards. Beth was at the stove, beginning the process of canning their seemingly endless tomato crop, and she turned her head when she saw Matt from the corner of her eye. He paused at the back door, wanting to thank her for feeding him so much, but before he could, Beth left the stove and picked something up from the counter that she had wrapped in a cloth.

"I baked you a loaf of honey carrot bread to take with you on your trip," she said, coming towards him. Her smile was gentle and warm and Matt knew why she had baked him something. So he wouldn't starve because he wasn't coming back.

He took the loaf from her. "Thank you, Beth. And thank you for everything else."

"Of course." Her smile remained. "You're important to Anna, so you're important to us, too," she said.

Matt didn't mean to in front of her, but he couldn't stop from snorting at that. Her smile slipped slowly from her face at his reaction and her eyes moved to Anna as she came to stand near the table. Anna was looking at Matt, willing him to look at her, but he wouldn't. He couldn't.

It helped if he reminded himself what a sick bastard he was for even looking at her in the first place. Being around other people reminded him what he knew all along. It was wrong, plain and simple. Being attracted to her was wrong. Kissing her had definitely been wrong. It didn't matter that they were in some new world and they were all learning how to be self-sufficient humans again while fighting the dead and adapting to these new rules that had been set in front of them.

They had to hold onto _some_ of the old world or they were no better than the walkers stumbling about without a working brain in their heads.

He gave his head a slight incline towards Beth. "It was nice to meet you all," he said and then with that, he walked out the door.

He heard Anna behind him and then a low murmur of voices as she and Beth talked, but Matt couldn't decipher what they were saying. He saw Daryl and Aaron standing near the barn, talking as they went over the weapons they were bringing with them, but they stopped and looked when they saw Matt coming towards them.

He stopped a couple of feet away. "I'm ready," he informed them.

Aaron glanced towards Daryl, but Daryl looked at Matt and nothing else.

"A'right," he nodded. "Le's just go get Spencer and then we'll leave."

He heard steps behind him and then Beth walked past him to go to her husband.

"May I speak with you for a moment?" Beth spoke to Daryl in a voice that sounded too tight and unnatural, but Daryl knew that voice. She was pissed for some reason and he went over everything that had happened in the past few hours and possible things he might have done, but he was coming up blank.

He followed her into the barn and once she made sure the door was closed securely behind them, she turned towards him and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Anna isn't an idiot," she told him.

"Never said she was," Daryl replied with a shrug and crossed his arms over his chest.

"She and Matt know exactly what you, Aaron and Spencer are planning to do, Daryl."

"And what are we plannin' to do?"

Beth just stared at him and crossing her own arms over her chest, she raised an eyebrow at him. _I'm not an idiot either_ , she told him silently. Daryl held his stance for another moment longer before he sighed and dropped his arms.

"He's too damn old for her," Daryl said.

"I'm sure people could think the same thing about you and me when we got together," Beth responded, but Daryl's response was immediate.

"It ain't the same damn thing," he nearly growled. "You were legal, Beth."

Beth exhaled a soft sigh. "I know you're protective of her. We all know that. We raised her into who she is today and we sent her out there because she was lonely and still sad and she is strong and brave and we knew she could handle herself… I trust Anna's judgment and if she says Matt is a good person-"

"No," Daryl cut her off, not wanting to hear any more. Not even when Beth frowned at him. "She'll get over 'im. And it's not like I'm just droppin' him off in the woods. We're gonna go to the diner and I'm gonna make sure it seems safe enough for 'im."

"She loves him," Beth said with a firm tone.

"She's sixteen," Daryl couldn't help but snap.

"I was eighteen when I fell in love with you. Just two years older than Anna."

Daryl shook his head. "That's not the same thing."

"Why not?" Beth questioned and she sounded genuinely curious as if she wasn't too smart to figure that out for herself.

Daryl didn't answer. He just strode past her without another word.

Beth was still frowning heavily at him, but for once, Daryl didn't really care. He loved this woman, but he was right about this – completely right – and nothing was going to convince him otherwise. And if Matt did know that they were planning on dropping him somewhere, he didn't seem to be having a problem with it, seeing as how he was going along with it without argument. Guy probably knew this whole thing was wrong, too. Maybe Matt was even grateful for an out. Maybe he wanted to leave, but wasn't too sure how to do it without hurting Anna.

Outside the barn, Matt stood off near the gate entrance, watching everyone else say goodbye to the men as they got ready to leave. Aiden and Bee crowded around Spencer and Spencer crouched down in front of them, saying something that Matt couldn't hear clearly, but Aiden and Bee nodded their heads obediently, and then Spencer hugged them as tightly as he could.

Daryl was doing the same with Eli and then Daryl hugged him tightly before bringing Beth into the embrace as well. Matt saw that Anna and Aaron were standing off to the side, whispering feverishly back and forth to one another.

Spencer was now standing and he and Rosita had their arms wrapped around each other. Spencer's face was serious. "You still have the letters for the kids?" He asked. Rosita rolled her eyes and opened her mouth, but Spencer put his hands on her cheeks, gently holding her face. "Do you still have them?" He asked.

And whatever Rosita's initial retort was going to be, it seemed to die in her throat as she looked into his eyes. Without a word, she visibly swallowed and nodded.

Everyone hugged everyone and Matt remained standing by the gate, feeling out of place and uncomfortable. But suddenly, he saw Bee scampering his way and like she had done the day before, the girl hugged his leg tightly and looked up at him.

"I love my doll," she told him.

Matt felt himself smiling. "I'm glad," he said and Bee smiled widely.

Rosita then came and surprised him when she hugged him, patting her hands on his back. "Thank you for bringing her home, safe," she said.

"She was the one who kept me safe," he told her though he figured she already knew that. Anna kicked ass. No one knew that better than her family.

Beth went hurrying into the cabin and then came back out a moment later. She came towards Matt with a plastic baggy in her hand. "Anna said that you loved this so I made you up some quick this morning," she said and she held out the plastic baggy. He saw that it was cinnamon tree bark.

"Thank you, Beth," Matt said with a slight incline of his head.

Beth stood on her toes and wrapped her arms around his shoulders and for such a little woman, she could hug damn tight. When she pulled back, he expected her to go back to Daryl, but instead, she kept standing in front of him, looking at him in the face, and she seemed to be studying him. Matt refrained from shifting nervously.

He didn't know what else to say to any of them.

He caught Anna from the corner of his eye and even though he told himself not to, he looked over to her. He waited for her to come towards him, bracing himself for it, sure that no one in her family would like that, but she remained where she stood, just looking at him; almost as if she was trying to memorize him. Matt found himself doing the same, knowing that he would never see her again. He had made it this far on his own – and with Anna's help – but fall was coming and then winter and there was just no way he would make it on his own through winter.

Deciding that he had to do _something_ , he gave her the slightest nod of his head.

Anna pursed her lips together and even from where he stood, he could see the tears flood her eyes and without saying anything to anyone else, she turned and hurried towards the barn, slipping inside and the door closing behind her. Matt's eyes fell to the ground, wondering if anyone else had seen that.

…

The diner was just about ten miles away once they found Road #2 through the trees and they followed the worn and cracked, faded pavement, Spencer pulling the wagon and Lily – having come with them – trotting at Daryl's side as he led the way.

Aaron took it upon himself to walk beside Matt.

"How old were you when it happened?" He asked.

Matt glanced over to him to see if he was really the one being spoken to. "Fifteen," he answered. "My sister had passed away about six months earlier and my parents got sick and died almost immediately and then it was just me."

"Was it hard getting out of DC?" Aaron asked.

Matt nodded and swallowed as he remembered – though he had done everything he could to _forget_ those first few days when the entire world collapsed into itself. At fifteen, he hadn't known yet what he would have to do to make it out of there alive. But he had always been a quick learner.

"You do what you have to," Matt murmured more to himself than to Aaron.

"But you managed," Aaron continued. "So, what? You're probably twenty-seven now? Twenty-eight?"

Matt nodded and shrugged. "Around there, I guess."

"That's not _too_ old," Aaron commented in a quiet voice.

Daryl glanced back at them over his shoulder. "Aaron," he said the man's name and Matt saw Aaron smirk a little as if something extremely funny had just happened and he was trying to keep himself from laughing as he went up to walk with Daryl.

Matt remained where he was, walking behind them a few feet with Spencer still bringing up the rear, pulling the wagon. Matt was pretty sure the man was humming to himself and Matt looked over the side of the road that dropped down sharply and abruptly and the trees the stretched as far as he could see in any direction. Even after being in these mountains for a few months, it was still somewhat amazing how quiet it all was. How isolated. How vast.

He glanced over when he saw Spencer come up beside him.

"Thank you for the doll you brought back for Bee," Spencer said. Matt, not too sure what to say, just nodded and gave a slight shrug of his shoulders. "It's harder with her than with the boys. When we found Anna, she was six and already so much older than that and she had already seen too much. She wasn't interested in things that you would think a little girl would be into."

Matt remained silent, listening to Spencer, hoping he would continue. He did.

"We already had her carrying a knife and teaching her how to kick a walker to bring it to its knees so she could stab it in the head. And Beth started teaching her immediately about plants and flowers. We got her crayons and coloring books, but anything more than that…" Spencer trailed off and shrugged himself. "She's always been tough and smart and we forgot most of the time that she was just a little kid.

"The kids are different. They're growing up in these mountains and this is all they've known. They know about walkers and how to kill them, but it's quiet up here. Hell, they only just saw their first person outside of the family a few months ago. But Bee's even more different. The boys are happy taking showers during a rainstorm and flinging mud at each other and they're best friends. Bee is…" he trailed off again.

"A little girl," Matt offered.

"Exactly. We've had to scrounge this earth for everything she has. And God help me, but she wants to wear dresses and she loves pink and she's becoming a girly girl and what the hell can I do about _that_ in this world?" Spencer asked though it wasn't really a question and Matt was sure it was inappropriate, but he smiled a little.

Daryl and Aaron had stopped and Spencer and Matt caught up to them within a few steps and stopped with them. There was a roadside motel that Matt remembered he and Anna passing just a couple days earlier, but they hadn't stopped. He had asked if she wanted to, but Anna had shaken her head and had kept on walking. There had been a storm and some of the windows were shattered and a tree had fallen down on the roof of some of the rooms; wild grass grew tall through the cracks of cement and a rusted Coke machine sat on the wooden platform outside one of the rooms.

"You two stop here?" Daryl asked.

"No," Matt answered. "I asked her if she wanted to, but Anna knew she was close to being home and she just wanted to keep on going."

Daryl nodded and then looked to Spencer and Aaron.

"Might be worth looking," Aaron suggested. "Just for a second."

"I wonder if there's still Coke in there," Spencer wondered and wandered off towards the machine, flexing his fingers around the handle of his machete, wondering how hard he would have to hit it to bust it open.

Daryl looked back towards the rooms and the tree, still lying stretched over the roof.

"Al'righ," Daryl said, having come to a decision. "While the idiot's tryin' to get his soda, we'll check the rooms. Can't imagine anythin' bein' of any use in any of 'em anymore, but we'd be stupid to pass 'em by, just in case there is," Daryl said and Matt and Aaron nodded in agreement. "Take anythin' you think is useful and leave it by the wagon for us to go through. We'll meet back here before goin' into the office."

They broke off after that, each heading towards their own rooms. The doors were warped with water damage and easy to break through on the ones with the locks turned. The ones that were locked, there was at least one or two walkers inside and they were able to be dispatched of easily.

With the windows busted and the roof caved in, nature had been able to get into these rooms, slowly taking them over again. The blankets, sheets and pillows on the bed were crusted with dirt and mud and in a closet, Matt saw that a family of foxes was living there. He quickly closed the door again so they didn't attack him and that they got his message that he wasn't there to hurt them.

He opened drawers, looked through the bathroom, but too many years had passed and nothing was even resembling something as useful. The paint was peeling from the walls, it smelled like mold and in the mint green bathtub, roots of some plant was starting to grow up through the drain. It all looked creepy as hell and Matt left the room, feeling a chill on the back of his neck.

Daryl was at the Coke machine with Spencer, Spencer kneeling down, trying to shove his arm up the bottom flap and Daryl hitting the front of it with his crossbow. Lily was sniffing at the flap Spencer had his arm up in, wondering what he was trying to get, the wolf wagging her tail back and forth, figuring it was something good if they were going through so much trouble for it.

Daryl looked up when he saw Matt. "Anythin'?" He asked as he paused and looked down to Spencer as Spencer kept stretching his arm up. "Would you stop that? You're gonna cut your arm and I don't have the stuff to do stitches."

"I'm close. I can feel it," Spencer grunted, pressing himself as tightly as he could against the machine.

"No, everything's pretty much ruined," Matt answered Daryl's question. "There are foxes in the closet though if you want them."

"Nah," Daryl shook his head and then paused to hit the front of the machine again with the butt of his crossbow. "Don't kill foxes."

Matt didn't ask why, knowing that the man had his reasons.

He had realized quickly that Daryl was the one in charge of this family, though he didn't walk around with his chest puffed out and strutting around like his shit didn't stink. There was a quiet authority to him and the others all loved and respected him and looked to him for answers. And Daryl looked to them all for advice when he was thinking things through.

Daryl was the kind of leader who made sure he earned his respect – and even then, he acted as if maybe he didn't really deserve it anyway – and Matt found himself respecting him a little already for that.

Matt looked at the pop machine. It was an old fashioned kind with the sides screwed shut. He stepped up to them, running his hands over the screws, and then with his knife, he began to work at unscrewing one. It was tight and nearly rusted and impossible, but Matt kept trying to turn it.

Aaron came out of his room then, a black backwards baseball cap on his head. They all stopped and looked at him and the hat that was now on his head.

"Think you prob'ly just gave yourself lice," Daryl grunted.

Aaron just smiled and shrugged. "I like it. Nothing else though except this." He held up a red hooded sweatshirt with USA in white written across the front. "Only thing in there that isn't home to mice."

"They're probably Communist mice," Spencer grunted, still trying to stretch his arm up the machine, and Matt felt himself laughing a little at that.

Matt actually got one screw undone and he dropped it to the wooden floor. He then began on the second and Daryl, seeing what he was doing, came with his own knife and crouched down, starting on the bottom screw.

"You know that anything that's still in there is going to be flat as hell," Aaron said and then leaned in, reading the buttons of what the machine supposedly might still hold. "Holy shit. Do you think there's actually Dr. Pepper in there?"

Spencer sat up, pulling his arm out, and looked up at Aaron. "Is your arm skinnier than mine?" He then grabbed Aaron so suddenly, the man stumbled and fell to his knees next to Spencer on the ground.

"Idiots," Matt heard Daryl grumble, but with no bite in his tone.

Matt wasn't sure how long it took them – probably a half hour – to unscrew all of the screws and then together, Matt and Daryl were able to push the front of case open. Sure enough, cans of pop looked back at them, all still stacked inside, waiting for someone to drop quarters in so they could get their selection.

Daryl smiled and clapped a hand on Matt's shoulder and for a second, Matt smiled, too, and completely forgot that he was going to be on his own in just a little bit. For a second, he let himself think that he was going to be staying with these people who seemed good and who seemed kind and who were able to make a hell of a life for themselves up in these mountains even after the whole world ended.

For a second, Matt smiled and celebrated alongside them at having actual pop and he didn't think about how he was probably going to freeze to death that winter.

…

The diner was a goldmine and Daryl could hardly believe it as they loaded up the wagon. Containers of flour – securely sealed tight. Containers of Quaker Oats – securely sealed tight. Containers of sugar and salt and cinnamon and a few bags of chocolate chips and jars of spices and it went on with each cabinet they opened.

"How many walkers did you and Anna kill to get in here?" Aaron asked him again.

"Seven," Matt answered, opening a cabinet and finding containers of pecans. He set three of them down on the counter to be put in the wagon and then making sure none of the others saw him, he slipped the fourth into his pack to keep for himself.

"You think people wouldn't want to deal with seven walkers?" Spencer asked Daryl in a low voice as he took the few boxes of yellow and chocolate cake mix from the cabinet he had just opened.

Daryl was quiet for a moment. "Prob'ly not at first. I think people didn' know how to scavenge for a while. They had to learn it and then by the time everyone did, this place was forgotten by prob'ly everyone until Matt and Anna came across it."

Matt stood up and headed towards the back office, which was probably the owner's.

"What do you think?" Aaron asked Daryl in a quiet voice. "It'd be good to have another person around, helping with all of the work."

"He's nice," Spencer added and Matt wondered if they knew they weren't talking as softly as they probably thought they were. "He works well with all of us."

"He's too damn old for her," Daryl all but growled at them as if reminding them of it.

Matt turned into the office, not wanting to hear anymore as they continued talking about his ass – perverted and dirty for being attracted to Anna in the first place. He would have wanted to stay with them, but he wasn't going to be delusional enough to think that Daryl would change his mind about him. And Matt couldn't blame Daryl for what the man thought of him already.

An older guy showed up with a teenager who was practically Daryl's daughter. _Of course_ Daryl wasn't going to invite him to stay.

Matt looked around the small office. It had a desk against one wall and a couch against the other, which he dropped his pack onto for the time being. He slid open the small closet and saw that there was a blanket folded on the top shelf. It could work if he stayed here. It'd be cold, yeah, but at least he had four walls and a roof over his head and no people and hardly any walkers to deal with. And ten miles wasn't _that_ far away from Anna.

Shit. Not that he wanted to be anywhere near her.

She was just a girl. Just a girl. Just a girl as strong and brave and as smart – probably smarter – as any of the men he had dealt with over the past few years. None of that mattered because she was just a girl and what the hell was the matter with him?

He went to the desk and started opening drawers, seeing if anything else could help him out when he stayed behind here.

"Anything good in here?" Daryl's voice appeared from the doorway.

Matt didn't look at him. Just shook his head and opened the last drawer. "You smoke?" He held up a pack of cigarettes, finally looking at him over his shoulder.

"Quit a few years ago," Daryl answered. "You?"

Matt shook his head. "Never. And figure it'd be stupid to pick up on it now."

He tossed the cigarettes back into the drawer and shut it. Maybe he'd light one after they left just so he'd have something to concentrate on for a few minutes.

Daryl exhaled a heavy breath. "We don't have any more room in the cabin," he said pretty suddenly and Matt felt himself go still. "There's the hayloft in the barn though. Mulligan used to sleep in it sometimes when he just wanted to be on his own. It don't smell the best in the barn, but 's warm. You'll have to pull your weight and listen to us and you're gonna stay away from Anna until she's eighteen."

During his little speech, Matt had turned and was now facing him. His face must have shown a mixture of disbelief and surprise because Daryl shook his head slightly.

"We all know you don't stand a chance at makin' it through winter on your own and Anna and my wife would never forgive me if I jus' left you here to freeze to death."

It seemed like Daryl was done talking and he turned to leave the office. But he paused in the doorway to glance over his shoulder at Matt – as if he was waiting to see if he was going to be coming or not.

Matt didn't hesitate in slinging his pack onto his back again and following Daryl from the room.

…

* * *

 **Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to review!**

 **(PS - random A/N: I was worried Aaron seemed a little OOC with his cursing, but I like to imagine that being around Daryl for so many years and being his close friend, it led to him picking up a few habits.)**


	37. Pear

**What am I going to do with myself once this epic ends?**

* * *

…

 **Chapter Thirty-seven.** Pear. **  
**

"Dad. Dad!" Eli said with growing urgency, shaking him awake.

Daryl's eyes slowly pried open and for a dazed moment, it was as if he forgot where he was, but then his sleep-addled brain began to slowly wake itself up and he focused on his son, standing next to the bed, shaking his arm.

"Wha' is it?" He mumbled, his voice rough and his throat dry. He tried clearing it.

"Mama's throwing up."

Daryl was instantly awake and tossing the quilt back, he hurried from the bed. Sure enough, across the tree house in their little curtained-off section where they had their tub for washing and bucket for peeing, Beth was on her knees, holding the sides of the bucket between her hands as she gagged into it. Daryl lowered himself next to her and with a hand on her back, he looked back to Eli.

"Get her some water, Eli," Daryl said and Eli hurried off and Daryl looked to Beth. He gathered her hair back for her and held it away from her face for her. "How long you been here?" He asked her.

Beth shook her head and kept her face in the bucket. "A few minutes. I told Eli not to wake you, but I think he got scared."

Daryl frowned to himself as he rubbed her back as she let loose another small amount of vomit into the bucket. Why the hell hadn't he heard her get up in the first place? This was the second time in recent memory that he had slept and hadn't woken up when he found out that there was a noise that he should have heard.

"This is the first mornin' you've been throwin' up, right?" He asked her as she slowly, finally, lifted her head and moved so she sat on her butt instead of her legs. "I haven't been sleepin' through any more mornin' sickness?" He reached up onto the counter next to him and took down a towel, handing it to her.

She smiled and wiped at her mouth. "You have arrived for the first one," she said.

Eli came hurrying back, a cup of water in his hand from the bucket they kept in the kitchen. Each night before they came up to bed, Daryl brought a bucket filled with water from one of the large barrels they had set up around the yard and set it on the stovetop, boiling it so it was sterilized.

"Here, mama," Eli said, holding the cup out to her.

"Thank you, baby," Beth smiled and took it, gulping down a grateful mouthful.

"Are you sick?" Eli asked. "Should I go get some herbs and tea?" He asked.

Beth smiled around the rim of her cup as she took another mouthful. Daryl grabbed him and gently pulled him down so he was sitting on the floor between them.

"Your mama's not sick," Daryl told him. "There's jus' somethin' in her stomach that's not makin' her feel too good at the moment."

"Oh," Eli said at the explanation, which really wasn't that much of an explanation, and was still looking at Beth with a furrowed brow, concern evident on his face.

When Beth found out she was pregnant with Ruby, she and Daryl had decided that they wouldn't tell Eli until she was a bit further along and was physically showing. The first trimester was always the most fragile and they knew that Eli wouldn't be able to keep the secret of Beth's pregnancy from the others until Daryl and Beth were ready to tell the others.

Without even having to discuss it, they had come to the same agreement this time with this pregnancy as well. Ruby had made it to her sixth month. Maybe this baby wouldn't even make it through the first trimester. They just didn't know and they didn't want to tell the others about the baby if there was no reason to tell them.

Daryl wanted to talk with Beth about the baby, but knew he couldn't do it right now. And he had something else on his mind at the moment – which was amazing that he could think about anything else right now after finding out Beth was pregnant again.

"Eli, do me a favor," Daryl said. "'m gonna close my eyes and I want you to clap. But don't tell me when you're goin' to. I wanna check my hearin'. Okay?"

"Okay!" Eli smiled, thinking it was some new game his dad had invented to play.

Beth, though, slowly pulled the cup down from her lips and was frowning slightly. Daryl looked at her and shook his head slightly. It'd be another thing they would talk about when no one else was around.

"Ready?" Eli asked as Daryl closed his eyes.

"Ready. And don't tell me when you're gonna do it," Daryl reminded him.

For a moment, Daryl didn't hear anything and a knot began to form in the bottom of his chest, tightening, beginning to make breathing difficult. Maybe he really was going deaf. But then, just like he told him to, Eli didn't tell him. He just clapped as loud as he could and the sharp smack echoed around the room and in Daryl's ears.

Oh, thank Christ, Daryl nearly breathed in relief. He didn't think he was _that_ old.

He opened his eyes and Eli was grinning and Beth was still frowning.

"Thanks, buddy," Daryl said, ruffling his hair. "Wanna get yourself dressed and then we'll head down for breakfast?"

"You okay now, mama?" Eli asked, looking at her as he stood up.

Beth gave him a smile. "Much better. Thank you for your help." Eli leaned down and gave her a quick hug and Beth kissed the side of his head before he hurried away towards his nook in the tree-house to get himself ready for the day – as Beth called it.

The instant their son was away, Beth's eyes instantly fell onto him.

"What the hell was that?" She asked without mincing words.

Daryl shrugged. "Sleepin' through things I shouldn't be sleepin' through," he explained as casually and simply as he could. The last thing he needed or wanted was Beth worrying about anything that had to do with him. She was pregnant now. They both had much bigger things to think about. "Think I'm just gettin' to be a heavy sleeper," he then shrugged and the explanation sounded good enough for him because he could still hear. And even if that was actually fading, it didn't seem to be completely gone. Yet.

Beth studied him for a moment. "What do I always tell you? Your body knows how much sleep it needs and considering how hard you work every day, it's no surprise that when you fall asleep, you sleep hard." She paused. "Is that really all there is? You're worried because you slept through me getting up this morning?"

"I don't wanna talk about it," Daryl replied honestly. "I wanna talk about you."

Beth still looked worried and slightly troubled, but then Daryl leaned in and his hand slid across her still-flat abdomen. She felt herself smiling faintly as her hand came to a rest over his, but then she exhaled a soft breath and looked at him.

"I'm scared," she whispered.

Daryl nodded. "Me, too." He moved closer, sitting right next to her with his hand still on her stomach and his other arm circled around her shoulders, bringing her into his side. "We're jus' gonna take it one day at a time. Can't do anything more than that. And you're gonna take it easy," he said as he always did.

But this time, Beth didn't argue. Instead, she nodded her head in agreement.

It wasn't as if she blamed herself for Ruby's death, but she often wondered if maybe, there had been something that she had done that had inadvertently caused harm to her delicate baby girl. When she was pregnant with Eli, she didn't stop working until her water broke and then, just a few days later, she was back on her feet no matter how many times Daryl told her to take it easy and everything had been fine then.

With Ruby, she had done the same even though she had known she had to slow down. Being pregnant nowadays was one of the most dangerous things a person could be. A million things could go wrong and they didn't have a doctor they could just take her to. Because now, if she did have a miscarriage, they still had to get the baby out of her somehow and kill it even further before it could turn and kill her.

When Beth had given birth to the still-born Ruby, Anna had taken her away for a moment and they all knew that she had plunged a tiny blade into the back of the baby's head so Ruby wouldn't be able to come back in any form. They hadn't asked her to do that even though both Beth and Daryl knew that it had to be done and they would never be able to do it themselves.

They had never talked with Anna about it and it couldn't be blamed by any of them that Anna just wanted to forget that she had ever had to do such a thing.

Beth couldn't let any of the same things happen with this baby.

She _would_ take it easy. They were all capable of taking care of this place without needing Beth to constantly be on her feet, doing twelve jobs at the same time. This time, she would take it easy and rest more and keep herself calm and everything would be okay and she and Daryl would have a healthy, live baby.

Please God, Beth prayed silently to herself. Let this baby be born, healthy and alive.

"But are you happy?" Beth asked him in a whisper; almost as if she was afraid to both ask the question and to hear what his possible answer might be.

Daryl didn't even hesitate. His arm tightened around her shoulders and he pressed his lips to her temple. "Hell, yeah, I'm happy," he said and he said it so firmly and emphatically, Beth felt her own tears of happiness starting to brim in her eyes.

They all got themselves ready – dressing and brushing their teeth with baking soda and Beth brushed her hair and then did the same for Eli, commenting that it was time she cut his hair. Of course, he instantly refused because he wanted to have hair like dad's, and Beth gave Daryl a look for not having his hair cut often either.

Daryl took the bucket with their pee and Beth's morning sickness down with him as they all left the tree-house and he went to go empty it out as Beth and Eli went into the cabin's kitchen for breakfast. As expected, everyone else was awake as well, ready to start their own days.

Aiden was sitting at the table, playing with his collection of Lincoln Logs as he did most mornings now before breakfast, and Eli hurried over to join him. Rosita was sitting in another chair with Bee standing in front of her between her legs, Rosita gently working a comb through Bee's curly hair, trying to get some snarls out before pulling it back into a French braid for the day. Spencer was kneeling in front of the stove, tossing logs into it to get it nice and hot so breakfast could be made, and Aaron was sitting on the couch, sharpening his knives since he and Daryl would probably go out that day for hunting and scavenging.

The only two missing were Anna and Matt, but Beth knew that they were in the barn, milking the goats for the day and collecting eggs from the chickens. Matt didn't know how to do much – except what Anna had already taught him in their months together before returning here – but the good thing with Matt was that he was willing to do absolutely anything and learn how to do it.

Daryl had laid the rules down for Anna when they had come back and she had practically thrown herself into Matt's arms, hugging him tightly and not wanting to let him go, and Beth had been so relieved that Daryl had changed his mind about the situation because she knew that Daryl thought Matt was too old for Anna and maybe he was – back when such laws were in effect – but Anna cared for him and it was obvious feelings were returned. In Georgia, sixteen had been the age of consent so if the world hadn't ended, Matt and Anna would have been allowed to be together.

This was one of the reasons why Beth had fallen in love with Daryl. He was a good man. When he cared about someone, they became the most important person to him in the world. And when he loved someone, he loved them with his entire heart and he loved them forever.

Beth could tell that Matt was uncomfortable with his feelings towards Anna – he being in his twenties and Anna being only sixteen for the time being – and when Daryl had laid down the rules, Matt had completely agreed and Anna had reluctantly done so as well if that meant that Matt could stay and live with them.

And so far, so good. Matt had acclimated in well with their family and most times, it almost felt as if he had been with them all along.

As Beth took out the iron-cast frying pans and a mixing bowl and one of the containers of Quaker Oats that had been found in the diner, Matt and Anna entered the kitchen with a bucket of milk and a basket of eggs and Anna was laughing at something that Matt had been saying and Matt was smiling a little.

"Good morning," Anna greeted happily to everyone, smiling broadly at Beth as she set the eggs down. But then a moment later, after looking at her, she took a step closer towards her. "Are you alright?" She asked quietly.

Beth wondered what she looked like for Anna to ask her that.

She gave Anna smile. "Of course I am," she said and reached out, rubbing Anna's arm and she could tell that Anna wasn't convinced, but thankfully, the girl didn't press.

For breakfast, Beth fried eggs and made enough oatmeal for everyone to have a couple of spoonfuls. She also cut a few tomatoes into slices and then fried those up in the pans with the little bit of grease leftover from frying the eggs.

As the food was laid out, Daryl came in from putting the pee bucket back up in the tree-house and they all sat down at the table to eat before starting the day's work.

"I've got a job for everyone today," Daryl spoke up and the chatter amongst them all immediately ceased as they looked at him. "Beth and Rosita, I figure, you can keep on cannin' and I'm thinkin' lessons can hold off for the day so Eli and Aiden can start on pickin' the corn, shellin' it and grindin' it up. Anna and Bee, I'm gonna want you on acorn pickin' duty and Spencer, go out and chop us wood. Take Matt with you and show him how you do it."

"Got it," Spencer said, bringing his fork to his forehead and saluting Daryl.

"And if you get done, you can help the boys with the corn. Aaron and me are headin' north today," Daryl continued. "See what we can find. You guys put a list together of anythin' you might need and we'll see what there is."

"Are you going to be gone overnight?" Beth asked.

"Wasn' plannin' on it," Daryl shook his head. He looked to Aaron. "You good with that?" He asked him.

Aaron paused to swallow down his bite of tomato slice. "Of course. Are we looking for anything special?"

"Nah. Just figured it'd be good to head out there one more time 'fore winter comes."

And the answer was true enough. He wasn't planning on some big, long run, but there were plenty of pockets of houses and stores in these mountains that they hadn't gotten to yet and Daryl couldn't imagine anyone else getting to them already. For some reason he still didn't get – but something he was grateful for – people didn't think that the Appalachian Mountains had anything of use to them so they all went other directions, trying to find other communities and places to live. Meanwhile, Daryl and his family had been up here for near ten years and they were doing pretty damn well for themselves – to put it mildly.

Maybe because the mountains had been poor before the end, the people left in this world just assumed that scavenging up here would be a waste of time. Most of them were like Rick – obsessed with the idea of modern medicine and food, having no idea that they were surrounded by nature that could provide them with both.

Whatever, Daryl always thought. More for him and his own.

After they all ate their full and their plates were scrapped clean, they began helping to clean up. Anna stood up, taking Bee's plate with her own.

"I'm going to bring the sheep with me and Bee when we go out to pick acorns," she told Daryl. "It'll be good to let them roam for a bit."

He nodded. "Sounds good. Wanna take Blackie with you, too?" He asked.

They all knew Blackie wasn't going to make it much longer. The horse had had a good, long life, but horses didn't live forever and every day, they saw him slowing down more and more. They didn't even think about hitching the wagon to him anymore. Daryl knew the horses left had returned to their wild roots, but he entertained the idea in the back of his mind that after Blackie left, maybe they'd be able to get themselves one of the wild horses running around and try to break it in.

Anna smiled faintly. "I think he'd like that."

"You are in for a treat today," Spencer was telling Matt. "Getting wood is one of the most important jobs we have and it's usually my responsibility."

"Why?" Matt couldn't help but ask.

"Because I look damn handsome swinging an ax around," Spencer grinned.

"Don't listen to him," Rosita said with a roll of her eyes towards Spencer before looking to Matt. "We told him it was one of the most important jobs so he would go out and leave us alone every day."

"Just for that, you can't have any of my wood," Spencer frowned.

"That's fine with me." Rosita let out a laugh. "Two is more than enough."

Matt smiled as Spencer threw his arm around Rosita's neck and she shrieked and laughed as he pulled her down into a headlock.

At the sink, Beth was pumping the handle to allow water to spurt into the sink and she then took a bar of soap to start washing the dishes. Daryl came up to her and slid a hand onto the back of her neck. She turned her head and smiled up at him and he leaned down, pressing his lips to her temple.

"You'll be fine with jus' cannin' today?" He asked her in a low voice so no one else could overhear their conversation.

Beth smiled. "There's nothing _just_ about canning and you know it, Mr. Dixon," she said and he smiled a little. "If it was so easy, you'd help."

"Want me to stay and help today?" He asked, his smile gone, now serious.

"No," Beth shook her head, still smiling. "I love you, so don't be offended, but you'd probably just be in my way all day."

Daryl thought that over for a moment. "I'm a _lil'_ offended," he said and she laughed.

His own lips quirked into a smile and he leaned down, pressing his lips to hers. Very quickly, Beth knew that this wasn't their usual peck when they parted ways in the morning to see about their individual jobs. This was a kiss that shouldn't have been in front of the rest of their family. Daryl kissed her hard and deep and Beth lifted her soapy hands to wrap her arms around his neck and his hands were tight and warm, grasping onto her hips as his mouth explored hers.

It only ended when both Eli and Aiden let out a loud "Ew!" at the display and when Daryl pulled his mouth away to tell them to shut it, Beth felt out of breath and her body seemed to be tingling everywhere.

"Why do you pick acorns?" Matt asked as he and Anna left the cabin to walk back towards the barn.

"We grind them down for flour," she answered. "We use acorn flour a lot more than we used to. We grow plenty of corn, but we don't grind it all down for flour. We have to make sure we have plenty for the animals and Beth uses so much flour, she doesn't want to go through all of our white flour all at once."

"Can you taste the difference?" Matt looked to her.

Her lips looked very pink to him that morning for some reason and he hated himself a bit for picturing himself kissing them and finding out what she tasted like. Probably eggs and tomatoes, but maybe she tasted like the blueberries from the juice she had drank instead.

Anna smiled. "It depends on what Beth makes with it. Pasta, yes. Bread, a little bit, but depends on the bread. You'll get used to the taste of everything soon enough," she said and turned the smile on him and Matt felt himself smiling as well because it all sounded great to him. Not just acorn flour, but the realization that he was getting the opportunity to try everything made with it and get used to it.

"Matt!"

Both turned just as they reached the barn and saw Bee running towards them, the little girl almost tripping over her feet as she ran as quick as she could. She snatched Matt's hand and bounced on her feet, beaming up at him.

"Will you help me and Anna pick acorns later?" She asked.

Matt smiled down at the four-year-old. "Definitely," he agreed without pausing.

With that, Bee's smile seemed to grow even larger and she hugged his leg before turning and running back towards the cabin.

"Someone's got a crush on you," Anna teased him with a smile.

Matt smiled back. "She's not the only one with a crush on me," he joked back and let out a laugh as she shoved him in the shoulder.

…

Beth and Rosita canned for hours – jar of tomato after jar of tomato went down into the root cellar and it seemed as if there were always more tomatoes waiting for them. They stopped for a bit to help Aiden and Eli with the corn and then stopped when Matt and Spencer returned with their wagon and armfuls of wood to help them unload it. The kitchen was hot and they were both sweating, and finally, when the last lid was screwed on tight, Beth felt absolutely exhausted.

"I'll be right back," Beth said to Rosita after they had cleaned up the kitchen.

She didn't say where she was going or what she was going to be doing and Rosita didn't question her. All day, Beth had been waiting for Rosita to say something to her; to look at her and know that something wasn't quite right, but even if Rosita did know something was "off", Rosita wasn't the sort to press on the matter until Beth opened up to her about whatever was going on.

Climbing the steps to the tree-house and coming onto the landing, Beth looked at the hammock they had tied out there between two of the steady branches that had split from the trunk, swaying invitingly in the gentle breeze blowing that late afternoon. It had been something silly Daryl had found during a random run – a long time ago now – and Beth looked at it now, so grateful that they had a hammock.

She took off her boots and gently climbed into the sturdy netting before laying down on her back, her knees drawn slightly up, her arms protectively holding her stomach. She heard Aiden and Eli, laughing as they took a break from corn picking so they could run around the yard, firing the Nerf gun at one another and then making sure they got to the ball before one of the goats could.

The breeze blew the hammock back and forth like a baby in a cradle and it lulled Beth's eyes to slowly shut. She was so tired. She had just found out about the baby that morning and already, the baby was kicking her ass. She didn't mind though. How could she possibly mind? She and Daryl were having a baby and she would do anything to keep this baby safe. If the baby needed her to lie down right now, that was exactly what Beth would do.

"Please stay safe," she whispered, the breeze carrying her words away, and she realized that her words were both for Daryl and their baby.

Beth drifted off, but she didn't realize it until she heard a plank of wood creak in her ear and her eyes fluttered open to see Daryl crouch down next to the hammock, his hand going to the top of her head.

"You're back," she smiled tiredly at him – having not even heard the fanfare that usually occurred from the others when he returned from a rare run – and Daryl leaned in, kissing her forehead.

"Yeah. Jus' got back. We did pretty good," he said and she kept smiling. "And I found you somethin' that I think you'll like. Brought a whole bunch back with us and figured you could do somethin' great with 'em."

Beth noticed for the first time that he had something in his hand and when he opened up his fingers so she could see it clearly, she felt instantly awake. She reached a hand out slowly, almost too afraid to touch it; her eyes and brain both still not too sure if it was actually real.

"Someone had a tree in their front yard and thing's still just growin' wild. Kind of amazin'," Daryl explained as her fingers finally touched the pear as lightly as if it was a piece of delicate glass, threatening to break into a thousand pieces.

She hadn't seen a pear in so long and she hadn't thought of them for just as long.

"You're gonna need plenty of fresh fruit," Daryl added.

And between this morning with the realization that she was pregnant again and now this, with an actual pear in her husband's hand, Beth burst into tears before she could stop herself. This was the best day.

…

* * *

 **Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to review!**


	38. Fate

**Almost there :( I honestly receive the best reviews for this story. Thank you to those who always take the time to send me one.**

* * *

…

 **Chapter Thirty-eight.** Fate.

"This is the best pear I've ever had," Beth said as she chewed on her mouthful.

Daryl smirked a little and looked up to the trees that were blowing in the late summer breeze above their heads, the sun streaming through. The hammock blew gently and he could see how Beth would have fallen asleep here even if she wasn't carrying their baby. It was damn relaxing right now. He was almost tempted to close his eyes and take a little nap himself.

Beth had insisted he climb into the hammock with her and he hadn't found a reason to disagree. He took off his boots and joined her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and she laid nearly on top of him as they shared the pear he had brought with him to show her.

Beth brought the pear to his lips and having her still hold onto it, Daryl took a bite.

"What else did you and Aaron find besides the pears?" She asked. "Though the pears are more than enough and if that's all you brought back, great job."

Daryl smiled and watched as she took another bite of the pear, a little trail of juice trickling down her chin and he wiped it away with his thumb, bringing his thumb to his mouth to suck it off.

"Found a whole bunch more ginger roots and couple more pecan trees. Trunk of sweaters and shirts that the moths hadn' gotten to yet. Just need a good washin'."

"It was a _very_ good run then," Beth said, holding the pear once more to his mouth so he could have another bite.

He nodded as he chewed. "Not too bad. Was thinkin' 'bout all those runs I used to go on for everyone while at the prison." Beth tilted her head up so she could look at him as he spoke. "Still lookin' for nothin' 'cept cans and bottles of aspirin."

"It had only been what? Two years by then. Cans and aspirin were still good," Beth reminded him. "Things are a little different now."

"We were jus' always stupid," Daryl said. "Dead people walkin' 'round. End of the damn world and we should 'ave adjusted. Should 'ave taught ourselves a lot sooner 'bout survivin'."

Beth snuggled in a little closer to him. "We've adjusted now." She paused. "What is making you think of this? The run today?"

"Aaron and me went into a double wide we came across. Cans were still in the cabinets. Dusty peaches and Beefaroni. We didn' even stop to look at 'em. And it just got me rememberin'…" he trailed off then and Beth brought the pear to his lips for a bite. He chewed and brought his other hand to rest behind his head. "We're doin' pretty damn good, Beth," he said after another minute.

Beth smiled. "We've been doing pretty damn good for a while," she reminded him.

"Yeah, I know. It's jus…" he trailed off again.

"What?" Beth asked him after a moment.

"Nah," Daryl shook his head. "Don't wanna jinx us." He then brought his hand out from underneath his head and slid it over her stomach. "'specially now."

…

"That doesn't go there," Aiden snapped as he took the piece that she had been trying to make fit and tossed it back towards her. Bee's immediate response was to push him as roughly as she could in the chest, knocking him back on his hands.

"Aiden, be nice to your sister," Spencer said from the couch, not lifting his eyes from the law textbook he was reading.

"She's being stupid," Aiden frowned and again, Bee pushed him. "Stop pushing me!"

"I'm not stupid!" Bee yelled and Aiden pushed her back.

"Aiden, knock it off," Eli said, frowning at him before looking back down to the puzzle they had spread out on the floor in front of the fire.

"You always take her side," Aiden frowned fiercely back at him.

"Because she's a baby!" Eli exclaimed.

"I am NOT a baby!" Bee shouted and standing up, she pushed Eli as well and then threw her puzzle piece into the fire in a fit.

"Damn it, Bee!" Aiden yelled, and he turned as if to grab the puzzle piece back, but it was too late; the flames already have consumed the little piece of cardboard.

"Aiden!" Rosita scolded him from the kitchen.

"Bee, apologize," Spencer frowned at her, but Bee took off running, hurrying up the stairs and a moment later, they all heard the door to her bedroom slam shut.

"Spencer, do you think you could actually _watch_ the kids?" Rosita asked, her hands fisted on her hips as she stared at him with a frown that was exactly like the frown that was still on Aiden's face. "None of those laws have changed since the last time you read that book."

Spencer closed the book with a sharp snap and stood up, frowning back at her. "So why do you still read that fifteen-year-old issue of _In Style_ you keep under your pillow?" He asked and before she could open her mouth to respond in any way, he headed up the stairs to go talk with Bee.

"Aiden, go to your room," Rosita said, pointing to the stairs.

"What did I do?" Aiden asked, his mouth hanging open with indignation.

Rosita simply raised an eyebrow at him and he sighed heavily, getting to his feet and heading up the stairs. Rosita left the room as well, heading into hers and Spencer's bedroom and the cabin fell quiet again except for the rain falling and hitting the roof.

It had been raining steadily for the past two days straight and they were getting a little stir crazy and not just the kids. Daryl was thinking of taking Spencer a little bit further into the mountain just to get him out of the cabin and away from Rosita so they would stop snapping at each other. The mood was rubbing off on everyone. The other day, Spencer had mentioned to him that they were in the Appalachian Mountains and maybe they should start thinking about finding themselves some coal so they didn't have to worry about chopping wood as much.

It hadn't been a bad idea. Daryl just had no idea how they would go about getting themselves coal when they didn't really have the tools to go digging and picking away in these mountains. But maybe, he would take Spencer to get him out of the cabin so they could begin exploring ways of how to make finding coal possible.

"A'right, Beth," Daryl said, standing up and picking up his bloody knife. "All cleaned up for ya. Ya wanna keep the legs?" He asked.

Beth turned away from the counter where she was crushing lavender flowers in her mortar. "Aaron loves them," she nodded. "And thank you for doing all of that."

"Don't mind. You know that," he shrugged, cleaning up the innards of the frogs to be cooked up and given to the wolves as a treat.

Daryl had taught Beth how to dress a few animals – squirrels and frogs and she could pluck the feathers off chickens and ducks – but with her still-early pregnancy, she just didn't have the stomach strong enough for it at the moment. In fact, her stomach was bothering her more than it ever had when she was pregnant with Eli. So far, she had woken up each morning, her head hanging in the bucket moments later as her stomach rolled. She had read that sometimes, morning sickness could be worse with each pregnancy after a woman's first.

Anna, Eli and Aiden – with Matt along to learn how it was done – had been able to catch a few frogs down near the water that morning and though four frogs weren't enough to get any of them full, it was still something they ate. Beth rolled them in flour with salt and pepper and then dropped them in oil, frying them up like chicken. For dinner that night, they were having frog, cabbage and Beth's lavender biscuits.

They all loved her lavender biscuits and Beth just hoped that they would still all be alive by dinner that night to enjoy them.

The back door opened and Matt stepped in, soaked just from his walk from the barn to the cabin.

"Take your shoes and jacket off and get to the fire," Beth immediately ordered. "I'll get you something warm to drink."

Matt didn't argue as he hung his jacket on the hook on the wall and sat down to untie his boots. He looked at the row of frogs and the collection of frog legs on the table and Daryl had gone to get a pot, returning now to toss the innards into it.

"They really taste like chicken?" Matt asked.

"Matter of fact, they do," Daryl nodded.

"Matt, are you good at puzzles?" Eli asked, standing up from the floor and coming into the kitchen, a puzzle piece in each hand. "Aiden and Bee both left me and I want to get this one done. It's a thousand pieces and I've never done a puzzle this big!"

"It's been a while since I've done a puzzle, but I can try and help you," Matt agreed.

The stairs creaked and Anna – having been napping in her room – came downstairs, a hand resting over her stomach.

"How you feelin'?" Daryl asked her before anyone else could.

"Did the tea help?" Beth asked. "I have more if you want another cup," she offered, already moving towards the kettle of wild peppermint tea on the stove.

"No, I'm okay," Anna shook her head to stop her.

Beth looked at her, not believing her, and went to the rows of jars she had lined on the shelf on the wall next to the window. She looked for just a moment before taking one in particular down, unscrewing the lid and handing Anna a piece of yellowroot.

"Make sure you swallow the juice," Beth reminded her and Anna nodded, taking the root and putting it to her lips.

"Thanks, Beth," she said quietly and then turned to go sit on the couch, chewing on her root and placing herself close to the fire.

Eli and Matt followed after her and as Eli sat up on his knees, hunched over the puzzle, Matt sat down with his back against the couch, putting himself close to Anna's legs. He turned his head to look up at her as she chewed and swallowed the juices that came from it just as Beth had instructed.

"It's just a stomachache?" Matt asked her quietly, worry evident in his dark eyes.

"Cramps, to be more specific," Anna answered with a slight, teasing smile and he smirked a little at that in return.

She wished she could just lean down right now and kiss him, but she knew better. Daryl had set rules down and though Anna, personally, thought they were stupid, she knew that Matt was going to follow them to the tee and she would do nothing to jeopardize Matt living here with her and the rest of them.

She just wished she knew how Matt was able to handle himself so well around her. Unless, of course, he actually didn't want to kiss her anymore. That could be a possibility – one that Anna didn't want to think of, but knew that she had to. Two people out there – completely on their own – maybe things were there that actually weren't. Maybe Matt had been acting on something that "I might die at any second" thoughts planted themselves in his mind.

"Anna?" Eli lifted his head to look at her. "Can you sing me a mountain song? It'll help me concentrate." He looked back to the kitchen. "I'd ask you, mama, but you gotta make dinner."

Beth laughed. "Thank you for being considerate, baby," she teased.

Anna smiled at him. "I'm sorry, Eli. I'm still not feeling well enough to sing."

Eli frowned a little at that, but he gave his head a nod, understanding, and went back to looking down at the puzzle, studying what he had so far. His dad had brought back puzzles before, but none that were this big before. He knew it was supposed to be a picture of the Earth, but it was hard because the swirls of blues and whites all looked alike and none of the pieces seemed to actually go together.

He wasn't going to give up. He was a Dixon and his dad always told him that Dixons never gave up – not on a puzzle and not on anything.

"Are the wolves back?" Anna asked no one in particular.

"Not yet," Beth answered with a shake of her head as she carefully dumped the lavender flowers into the mixing bowl next to her.

Sometimes, all three wolves left to go on hunting expeditions. One time, Buck had come back with a limp in his leg and blood stained on his snout. Beth had wrapped his paw for him and Bee had given him her bread that night for dinner. As Daryl liked to remind them all, the wolves were all still wild animals and sometimes, they just needed to be out there, being wolves.

"Is Aaron okay?" Matt asked Anna quietly.

The man had been in his bedroom for most of the day, having hardly eaten his breakfast before going back into his room and closing the door behind him, but Beth hadn't offered him any of her herbs or teas or roots, knowing he wasn't feeling sick.

"Sometimes, Aaron gets sad," Eli was the one to answer. "And mama said when people are sad, they just want to be left alone for a while."

Matt kept looking at Anna for a little more explanation than that.

"Aaron lost someone a long time ago. Eric. Some days, his grief is too much and he just wants to deal with it on his own," Anna told him in a quiet voice.

"But he'll come out again for mama's biscuits," Eli swore as if making a promise.

He put a piece down, but it didn't seem to fit right, no matter how hard he pushed on it for it to. Matt sat forward a little and taking the piece, he moved it across to the other side of the small amount of puzzle that had been able to be put together, finding the spot where it went easily, it fitting into the spot perfectly.

Eli gave him a wide grin and Matt smiled, too.

"I don't look at the colors," Matt told him. "I study the shapes and work that way."

Eli rolled himself onto his stomach, propped up on his arms, and he picked up the next piece, studying the shape and trying Matt's way.

Beth began to chop up the leaves of the flowers and as she did, she listened to the steady rain hit the roof. So much rain. She was glad that they had finished with their harvesting and most of their canning. Mulligan had told her once that if it rained on the day the moon became full, it would continue to rain until the moon quartered. If it rained that much, it would spoil their crops, for sure.

 _"_ _I'm singing in the rain._

 _Just singing in the rain."_

She began to sing as she chopped the leaves.

 _"_ _What a glorious feeling,_

 _I'm happy again._

 _I'm laughing at clouds,_

 _so dark up above._

 _The sun's in my heart,_

 _And I'm ready for love._

 _"_ _Let the stormy clouds chase,_

 _everyone from the place._

 _Come on with the rain,_

 _I've a smile on my face._

 _"_ _I'll walk down the lane,_

 _with a happy refrain._

 _Just singing,_

 _Singing in the rain."_

"Thank you, mama," Eli said without lifting his head from the puzzle.

Finished with the leaves, she scraped those into the mixing bowl as well, and for a moment, her hand dropped down and came to a rest on her stomach. She used to sing to Eli and Ruby in her belly all of the time, too. She had read once that the babies could absolutely hear things while in the womb and she had wanted her children to know her voice from the second they were able to recognize things.

She prayed that this baby would grow enough to kick her. She wanted to feel her baby kick and roll around inside of her more than anything.

She went to the jar of white flour on the shelf and brought it back to the counter to add it along with the flowers and leaves. She'd then add the sugar and egg yolk and mix it all up. The original recipe had called for butter, too, but she had always been able to make the biscuits – and most everything – without it. She added just a little bit of water for a bit more texture and she'd be able to make about twelve biscuits.

Hopefully, the lavender biscuits would make everyone happy.

And hopefully, this rain would eventually stop, too. That would definitely make everyone happy.

Beth admitted that she had gotten a bit distracted with her thoughts and had forgotten Daryl was still in the kitchen with her until he came to stand beside her. He looked to see that Eli, Matt and Anna – having slid down from the couch to join them on the floor – was preoccupied with their puzzle before he slid a hand onto Beth's stomach, joining hers.

"Can you feel it yet?" He asked in a low voice.

"Not yet," Beth shook her head and then tilted her face towards his, giving him a small smile. "But soon."

Daryl wrapped his other arm around the front of her neck and he pressed his lips to her temple, Beth smiling and closing her eyes, leaning a bit more into him.

"I'm gonna take Spencer out," Daryl said lowly. "Get 'im out of here for some fresh air. Maybe take a walk around and get some ideas."

Daryl had told her about the coal after Spencer had first mentioned it to him and Beth nodded her head now.

"Make sure you both keep your heads covered," Beth said as he gave the side of her neck a kiss before pulling away. "The last thing any of us need is you two being sick."

"Mmmm-hmmm," Daryl said as he stepped away and Beth knew he did that when he wasn't really listening to what was being said.

"I mean it, Daryl Dixon," Beth said after him. "Either you keep your head covered or you don't get a biscuit at dinner."

Daryl's foot stopped on the bottom step and he turned to looked at Beth.

"That's damn near the worst thing you've ever said to me," he said.

Beth's light laughter followed him upstairs as he went to get Spencer.

…

Both men were quiet as they walked – the rain having slowed down to a light drizzle, pelting the leaves as it fell from the light grey clouds in the sky. Daryl's crossbow was loaded and in his arms as always, his eyes sharp as he looked at their surroundings as they walked, and Spencer's machete was hanging at his side.

Spencer hadn't said a word – which was damn odd for the man – and Daryl knew that he would probably have to be the one to speak first even if he had absolutely no idea what to say right now. Maybe he and Rosita were just on one another's nerves right now. It happened to all of them. Living practically on top of each other, seeing each other day in and day out for years on end, it could make a person crazy.

"Everythin' alright with you and Rosita?" Daryl finally asked even though he wondered if he really should. Spencer was like his brother and Rosita was like his sister and they were all family – living and surviving this world together – but really, what business was it of Daryl's or any of theirs?

He was surprised a little with how easily Spencer answered. If it was him, Daryl knew he personally wouldn't have said a damn thing if someone had asked him about things with Beth.

Spencer shrugged. "Sure. It's not like she can leave me for someone else."

Daryl didn't say anything to that. He just looked over to him. Sometimes, it still amazed Daryl just how much Spencer had grown up since the first time he saw him, peeking over the fence, watching Beth and Jack in the garden in the backyard of their first house. He had just been some little punk then – too sheltered and too weak to last that long outside of a fence.

All of this time later now, Daryl looked to Aaron and Spencer as his brothers and he trusted his – and his family's lives – in their hands with no hesitation on his part.

"Forgot what we were talking about, but she compared me to Abraham," Spencer said and shrugged again as if it didn't bother him though Daryl had always been observant and this time was no different. Of course it bothered Spencer to hear Rosita compare him to her ex-lover – no matter how many years had passed since the last time she was with the guy.

"Whatever," Spencer then said. "We have two kids together. We're as married as two people can be nowadays. What is she going to do? Leave me for Aaron?"

Daryl was quiet, letting all of that roll around in his head. "She loves you," he then offered, hoping that would be what Spencer needed to hear.

"Lack of options," Spencer muttered, looking straight ahead and nowhere else. "I love the hell out of her though. That should count for something. If Aiden was still around, I wouldn't have been the Monroe brother she would have picked. I know that. I'm not living in some fantasy world where I tell myself that I'm her soulmate."

Daryl opened his mouth to say something, to argue with him, but he couldn't think of anything to say. It wasn't as if he actually agreed with the bullshit Spencer was saying. He just wasn't as good with words as other people in their family were. He wished Aaron had been able to come with them. Aaron would know exactly what to say to Spencer right now and they would be the perfect words.

"Lack of options," Spencer said again. "You be with someone to keep you warm at night or you spend the rest of your life, missing someone so bad, you can't function on some days, like Aaron."

"You're talkin' 'bout Rosita like she's some whore who's just with you 'cause she wanted to get laid on a regular basis," Daryl frowned.

"I love her," Spencer said firmly. "I love her and our kids more than anything in this world. But I'm not stupid. If Abraham had never kicked her out, she would have still been with him and she never would have known my name."

Spencer shrugged again.

"I'm not like most of the people left. I lost my parents and my brother, but because of Rosita and having Aiden and Bee and living up here on this mountain with the rest of you, I honestly think the dead starting to walk around was the best thing to ever happen to me."

Daryl was quiet at that even though he agreed completely with Spencer's sentiment.

Even with all of the people he had lost along the way, having Beth and Eli now and living here on this mountain with the rest of their little family, this was the best his life had ever been.

"Beth's pregnant," Daryl said for no reason and he wished he could take the words back because it was way too early and he and Beth were in agreement to not tell anyone until at least her fourth month.

Maybe it was because Spencer had taken the time to confide something in him.

"We're gonna have another baby."

Spencer didn't hesitate in smiling and slapping a hand on Daryl's back.

"That's great, Daryl. Congratulations," he said and Daryl felt himself smiling a little, too. He was scared out of his mind and he knew Beth was, too, but… it was a baby.

He didn't know if he could go through another Ruby incident, but if Beth was brave enough to try for another, of course he was going to stand right next to her.

"See, you and Beth, you're solid," Spencer said. "Even if the world had never ended, you two would have found each other, somehow, and ended up together."

Daryl thought on that for a moment. "You really think that?" He then asked – quietly as if he was almost embarrassed to be asking it louder than that.

"Definitely," Spencer said with a firm nod of his head. "It's fate. Everyone can see you two are meant to be together – end of the world or not."

Daryl was quiet again, thinking on that. He didn't know how true that was, but he admitted to himself that he liked how that sounded. Meant to be – no matter whether the world had ended or not. And just thinking that, he admitted, it gave him a warmth in his chest that almost made him want to smile.

He wanted to tell Spencer that he and Rosita were meant to be, too, but he didn't. He knew that Spencer wouldn't believe him.

But when they walked back towards the cabin and walked in through the gate, Rosita was standing there in the drizzle, waiting for them, and when she saw Spencer, she threw herself against him and wrapped her arms tight around him and Spencer closed his eyes as he hugged her back.

Daryl kept on walking towards the cabin, knowing they wouldn't want an audience, and he didn't particularly feel like intruding on their moment. When he walked into the cabin's kitchen, he saw that Aaron was out of his room now, sitting at the table and coating the frogs and frog legs in the flour for Beth as she was at the stove, cooking a pot of blueberries for everyone to have warm blueberry juice with cinnamon sprinkled on top to drink. Aiden and Bee were back now, too, and they sat on the floor in the living room – joining in with Matt, Anna and Eli as they all worked on putting the puzzle together.

When she saw him from the corner of her eye, standing in the doorway and looking over the scene, Beth turned her head and looked at him, greeting him with a smile. Daryl looked at her and smiled, too.

…

* * *

 **Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to review!**


	39. Christmas

**A very big thank you to Mrsgberg for some help she provided me. Man, this story. What am I going to do without it?**

* * *

…

 **Chapter Thirty-nine.** Christmas. **  
**

"Wait. _How_ do you know that?" Matt asked as he watched Eli scratch a mark onto a rather large boulder in the corner of their yard.

"The marks," Eli said, pointing to all of the other marks along with the one he had just made on the boulder. "And the boulder," he said, pointing to another less than a foot away. "It's our calendar. We use the sun to tell us the time of year. It helps when we plant the crops. See the sun? During the winter, the sun is at its lowest point in the sky all year and the shadows are at the longest. When the shadow is at its shortest, it's winter solstice and Christmas is about now."

Eli was talking as if he was much older than his almost seven-years and he was explaining all of this to a child younger than him.

Matt stared at the shadow of the ground boulder that the sun was casting as if he had never seen anything more amazing than that. "So, you can really tell when it's going to be Christmas?"

Eli nodded and then shrugged. "Just about. Give or take a couple of days. How you think the people knew when it was Christmas before they started making calendars? And farmers had to know when they had to plant their seeds somehow."

Matt didn't have an answer for that. He had never thought of that before, to be honest, but it had been a few months – he had no idea how long it actually had been though Eli probably knew with his boulder markings – since he had come back with Anna and he had been allowed to stay and he saw the way things were done here. It really was like going back in time. Anna had laughed once that she used to call them all pilgrims and he had smiled at that even though that was exactly what it was like.

It amazed him any time he saw Rosita knit something from the lamb's wool that Anna had cut and had been spun or when someone had a headache and Beth knew to give them willow bark or when someone needed laces for their boots and Daryl took hide from the latest animal he had hunted and was able to make a new set. He was even learning how to make soap, taking the animal fat and how they got lye from wood ash and boiling it all together and adding flowers to make it smell good.

They were so self-sufficient up here – just how people used to be before there were too many people and too much instant information at the tips of everyone's fingers made them forget. It was weird how that worked. The more information that people had access to, the more things that were forgotten.

"So what do you do for Christmas?" Matt asked as he and Eli began heading back towards the cabin.

A light snow was falling – nothing more than flurries. They already had about five inches on the ground that had fallen over the past few weeks. It was his first winter up here in the mountains – but hopefully not his last – and Aaron warned him that winters could feel like they lasted forever up here. Matt believed it. It already felt like it had been gray and frigid for years already – darkness coming so much earlier and winds that cut through their bones and even with the fires, he always felt cold – and if it was only now just Christmas, they still had a few more months to go.

"We have a feast!" Eli exclaimed with excitement. "Dad usually is able to get us a deer and we have corn chowder and mashed potatoes and cabbage and noodles and rose hip berries and bread."

Matt grinned at that and then asked, "And do you do presents?"

"Sometimes. Not all the time though. We're just happy with the feast," Eli replied.

Matt followed the boy through the back door, stepping into the kitchen.

"Two more days, mama!" Eli announced excitedly and hurried up to Beth, who stood at the table, cleaning off the burdocks they had picked earlier that day to be boiled down and the first time Matt had tried them, they reminded him of the taste of carrots. Beth smiled and helped Eli take off his hat and unwrap his scarf, asking him if he'd like warm milk or hot chocolate.

"Matt, could you take the pecans out of the oven, please?" Beth asked him.

"You got it," Matt said as he hung his coat up and then went to the oven, grabbing the towel from the counter and opening the door, he reached in and took out the sheet of roasting nuts. His stomach grumbled at the scent.

Beth was five months pregnant now and she looked as big as the cabin already. She had told them all the month before that she was pregnant, even though by then, most of them had been able to guess it considering she had already had a somewhat visible bump that was obvious beneath her sweaters. They had all been happy for her, hugs and kisses going all around, but there had also been a sense of nervous energy that hung in the air above their heads and later, Anna told him about the still-born Ruby, who was buried behind the barn, next to Mulligan, and how she had been the one who had plunged a blade into the back of the tiny baby's head so she wouldn't come back. And in that second, if Matt hadn't already known it, he would have thought that Anna was the strongest person left in this world.

They were all in agreement to help Beth with absolutely everything and Beth was letting them – which Matt guessed was different from how she had been during her other pregnancies – and it was all agreed that Beth would go on bed rest at the end of her sixth month and stay there until she was ready to give birth.

They were ready and willing to do anything to make sure that the tragedy with Ruby didn't repeat itself this time.

As Eli was excitedly going over the menu with Beth for the feast that they would have in two days, Matt headed up the stairs towards the cabin's second floor. He had only been up here a couple of times before – seeing the two bedrooms – the one where Aiden slept and the one that Anna and Bee shared. That bedroom door was open and standing in the hallway, Matt saw that Bee was lying on her stomach on her bed and Anna was kneeling on the floor next to her, holding a cloth of salt to the little girl's ear, talking to her, but in a voice too low that Matt couldn't decipher the words but whatever it was, it was making Bee smile and help her feel less miserable.

Bee got earaches throughout the winter – at least three – and only during the winter. Something about her being just a little kid and her immune system.

"When's it my turn?/Wouldn't I love/Love to explore that shore up above?/Out of the sea/Wish I could be/Part of that world."

Matt could finally hear Anna and he listened to her sing the song that he hadn't heard since he was a kid and his twin sister, Carrie, had loved that movie and had watched it every day until Matt had taken it and thrown it out in the snow and Carrie had cried and their dad was so pissed that Matt had done that.

"Thank you, Anna," Bee said softly once the song had finished and the little girl sounded as if she was moments away from falling asleep.

Matt didn't think he had moved, but the floorboard beneath him creaked and Anna turned her head, seeing him in the hallway. She gave him a smile and got to her feet. She bent over and kissed Bee on the head and then stepped out of the room into the hallway, closing the door a little behind her, and smiled up at Matt.

He knew he wasn't allowed, but he couldn't help it. No matter how many times he told himself that it was just plain wrong, most times he looked at Anna and couldn't stop any of the thoughts that flooded into his mind.

Carrie was his twin and the two had been completely unexpected. Their parents had been a bit older and getting pregnant with one kid was something amazing. Twins was just unheard of. It wasn't as if twins ran in their family, but when Carrie was born, he was right behind her. And since that day, they were always at one another's sides. Everyone figured that by the time they hit junior high, they would grow apart as siblings tended to do in that time of age – especially boys and girls – but that hadn't happened. They were best friends through and through and when Carrie got sick, Matt spent most nights at the hospital in an uncomfortable chair next to her bed because everyone knew that visiting hours didn't apply to him.

After Carrie died and then the world ended and the dead started walking around and then his parents died, too, and Matt was on his own, he turned himself off to everything around him.

He did things to survive though he didn't really know why he cared because honestly, living or dying just didn't matter to him anymore.

Until one day, he had a sudden flash of Carrie in his head – the first time he had allowed himself to think of her since her death – and he knew that she would be so furious with him and the things he was choosing to do. He was still alive and that was a gift and a miracle whether or not he thought that. So he finally kicked his ass in gear and he left the factory and the Saviors and he knew he probably wouldn't make it long out there on his own, but at least he'd be going out on his own terms and not acting like some savage without a heart or working brain in his head.

He wasn't some mindless tool walking around who couldn't even say his own name.

And then he met Anna. Well, technically, he met Spitz first, and then Anna, and he had looked at this girl. This girl had lost her sister, too, and her parents and she had been a hell of a lot younger than him when it had all happened, but now, she had grown into this serious kick-ass video game heroine come to life.

She was amazing in every sense of the word and even though he told himself that he was too old and she was too young, there was something about Anna that just kept pulling him in and he realized that he didn't want to fight it off. She was amazing. The most amazing person he had ever met. Strong and brave who knew how to do anything. He had never met anyone like her and he didn't want to think about how if the world had never ended, he never would have even known that she existed.

"Hey," Anna smiled at him, the warm cloth of salt in her hands, and she spoke softly so she didn't wake up Bee behind her. "Did Eli show you the calendar boulder?"

Matt didn't answer. He just stared at her. At her blonde hair and green eyes and freckles and the tiniest scar on her cheek from some run-in she and Aaron had had with a walker in the woods years ago and a tree branch had deeply scratched her.

Thank God this amazing _woman_ had taken pity on his ass and decided to save his life. Ever since he met her, he had been glad that he was still alive.

"Matt?" Anna said again when he didn't answer her.

Matt didn't think about it. He just hoped that this wouldn't get him kicked out.

He stepped forward and with his hands on her cheeks, he gently tilted her face upwards towards his and he pressed his lips to hers and he felt her smiling.

…

Rosita knocked hesitantly on the closed door and upon hearing Spencer's muffled "Yeah" from the other side, she pushed it open and stepped into their bedroom, closing the door behind her once again. Spencer was sitting on the bed, looking over the little present they had managed to find for Bee this year – a thin headband with two cat ears on top. They both already knew that once their daughter got her hands on this, she would never want to take it off.

"Hey," Rosita said softly and she felt so nervous though she wasn't the sort to feel that too often in her life – especially around Spencer. But lately, he had been so distant from her, if they lived in a community much larger with so many more people, she would think he was seeing someone else behind her back. "We're setting the table and the feast is just about ready," she told him.

Spencer gave a nod. "Alright." He pulled himself off the bed and then wrapped the cat headband in a piece of cloth.

Rosita took a green hair ribbon from the dresser and Spencer handed her the present so she could tie the ribbon around it. "Do you have Aiden's present?" She asked and he nodded.

He showed her the cloth-wrapped Rubik's Cube they had found. They hadn't planned on getting the boys presents this year, but then Daryl had decided to make Eli something this Christmas and they didn't want Aiden to feel left out.

Spencer began moving towards the door and Rosita watched him in the mirror.

"I love you," she said as his hand went to the doorknob and then stilled there. She swallowed. "I don't… I don't know if you still love me, but I just want you to know that I love you." She was aware of her voice shaking and she did her best to swallow the tremor in her throat back down.

Spencer was so quiet, if she hadn't been watching him in the mirror, she would have thought he had left the room.

Slowly, he turned away from the door, back towards her.

"You think I don't love you?" He asked, his voice low and revealing his clear shock.

Rosita turned away from the dresser to face him. "You've been so quiet… I thought… we have two kids together, but that doesn't mean there has to be love between us."

Spencer didn't say anything to that. Without a word, he walked towards her and the dresser and she took a step back as he opened up the top drawer and pulled out the letter he had written to her before he had left with the others on the prison run. The creases were worn and weakened from Rosita having read it countless times since he had given it to her.

"Read that if you don't know," he said and set it down on the dresser's surface. He took a step back as if he couldn't stand being so close to her. "You're the one who's always comparing me to some guy who kicked you to the curb years ago."

"I have never compared-" She began to say but Spencer gave her a look that swiftly cut her off. Rosita swallowed. "Fine. Yes. I still think of Abraham sometimes, but that's only because… you're just so different and-"

"Yeah, I got it," Spencer cut her off. "Lack of options."

"Would you let me explain?" She snapped, but the instantly regretted it. She reached out to touch him, but she knew that he didn't want her to do that right now so her hand fell back to her side. "I do think about Abraham, yes, but that's only because you'll do something or say something and I think about how _no one_ has ever loved me to way you do. I'll think about Abraham and I know now that I was nothing more than just some pretty bed-warmer to him. He cared about me, yes. I think he would have been upset if something happened to me. But you… you love me and we've been together for years now and have Aiden and Bee, but sometimes, I just don't think I deserve you that much. I see you reading that law book and I think about the girl you probably _should_ have been with and I know it wouldn't have been me. I was never good at school and I definitely didn't come from some upper-class family-"

Spencer stepped in and swiftly pressed his mouth to hers, cutting her words off. He kissed her until both of their lungs burned for needed air.

"You're an idiot," Spencer said once their lips had parted.

"Wasn't that what I was just saying?" She asked and pretended to be offended, but her smile was giving her away.

Spencer smiled, too, and kissed her again and Rosita wrapped her arms around his neck, holding onto him tightly and not letting him go.

…

The feast lasted long past the sun gone and the sky was completely black and food spread across their table – roasted and salted deer, a thick corn chowder, mashed potatoes, cabbage and noodles, rose hip berry jam and lavender biscuits, and for dessert, honey cake and roasted pecans along with cups of warm apple cider.

They all ate until they were full, but then they kept eating until the plates and bowls were empty of any morsel.

The presents were given to the children and as expected, the instant Bee saw her cat headband, she had gasped and had Rosita had helped her put it on and Bee told them all that she was never going to take it off again. Aiden opened his Rubik's Cube and had frowned in confusion until Aaron, sitting next to him, showed him what he had to do. After that, Aiden fell into a silent concentration, twisting the cube this way and that way, trying to get the same colors onto the same sides.

"That might have been too mean of a present," Anna spoke up as they watched him for a moment, but Spencer just grinned and shrugged.

"If he's busy with that, he's not tormenting the goats," he said.

For Eli, Daryl handed him what he had made for him, carved from wood. A simple cup on a handle and at the end of an attached string, a ball. "You try and get that ball into that cup," he said and Eli looked at it for a moment before looking back to Daryl.

"How hard can that be?" He asked his dad. Daryl just smirked a little.

"Try it, but not at the table, Eli," Beth advised.

The boy stood up and they all watched as Eli brought his arm out, trying to flip the ball on the string into the cup. When it didn't go in, he frowned, and tried again. He couldn't get the ball in though until his fifth try and after that, he was determined to get the ball into the cup ten times in a row.

"That was also really mean," Anna said and Daryl smirked again.

"A toast," Beth decided, raising her cup. The adults all did the same. "Merry Christmas," she smiled at her family. "May we have many, many more."

"Merry Christmas," everyone echoed as they hit their cups together and Daryl leaned over in his chair, one of his hands sliding over her large baby bump and the other around the back of her neck and Beth smiled as he kissed her.

Hours later, the table was cleaned off and everyone was so stuffed, they could barely move. Anna went out once more to check on the animals and Matt, deciding it was time for bed, went with her to go sleep up in the hayloft where his bed was made.

Daryl had followed Beth out, to help her up the steps to the tree-house, and Aiden and Eli had both fallen asleep on the floor of the cabin, in front of the fireplace in the living room. Rosita covered them with quilts and Spencer went to carry a sleeping Bee upstairs to get her changed into her pajamas and put her into her bed.

Aaron had been warming one last cup of milk over the fire and with his cup, he wished Rosita a good night and she gave him a tight hug before he went into his room for the night. He added another log to the fire and sat on the bed and tugged off his boots. It was a silent night and he sat there for a moment, allowing himself to think of the last Christmas he had had with Eric before everything had ended.

"I feel like an asshole," Eric said as he handed Aaron the card. "You went to all of this trouble…" he looked down at the first edition Hemingway book in his lap. "… and I got you that."

Aaron smiled as he opened the card and the gift card for Pottery Barn fell out.

"How stereo-typically gay is _that_?" Eric joked and Aaron laughed before leaning over and kissing him.

Aaron shook his head slightly as if to shake the thoughts out and was just about to change into his pajamas when there was another knock on the door. He stood up to open it and saw Spencer and Daryl there.

"Hey. Wanna camp out tonight?" Daryl asked him. "'s cold, but we'll head to the cave. Build up a fire."

"And I'm bringing the moonshine," Spencer grinned. He had found one of Mulligan's family's books back in the fall on how to make their own alcohol and Spencer had been determined to make a go of it since. "It's probably shit, but hey. It's Christmas."

"So, we're going to go to the cave in the middle of the night, next to a frozen body of water we can fall into, and get drunk for walkers to find us?" Aaron asked with a raised eyebrow, looking at them.

Daryl shrugged. "It's Christmas," he echoed Spencer's sentiment.

Aaron smiled and shrugged himself. "Sounds good," he said and they smiled back. Aaron didn't know what he'd do without them.

…

In her sixth month, Beth went onto bed rest without a peep of protest. It was getting difficult for her to move anyway and she wasn't nearly this big when pregnant with Eli. She climbed into bed in their tree-house and she joked with Daryl that wasn't coming down again until there was a baby in her arms.

Daryl smiled a little and kissed her head. "Sounds perfect to me."

She spent her days reading books and writing in her journal or sleeping and really only getting up to go to the bathroom or to the counter to crush some flowers for tea or to get another ginger root from the jar to chew on. Someone – usually Daryl – came up every hour to check on her; just to make sure she was okay and didn't need anything. Beth wasn't used to just lying around and being waited on, but as Daryl liked to remind her, it was winter and nothing was happening except it was snowing out again and they were trying to keep the path between the cabin and the tree house and the path between the cabin and barn shoveled clear.

Beth knew she didn't have to constantly be up anyway. She was on bed rest to ensure a healthy, safe pregnancy and she would do _anything_ if that meant giving birth to a healthy, happy baby at the end of these nine months.

Most days, Eli came and laid with her in bed and he would read to her from one of his books. Right now, he was in the middle of reading about sharks from an animal book they had found and he was completely fascinated by them.

"So, since they've been around since dinosaurs, do you think the dinosaurs could come back?" Eli asked her once he had paused in his reading to look at her.

Beth was smiling as she rubbed her hands over her stomach. "I don't know if I can answer that, baby," she said. "What do I usually say?"

"God works in mysterious ways," he recited.

"That's right," she smiled. "Maybe God will decide to bring them back now."

"Could you imagine a dinosaur versus a walker? That would be awesome," Eli grinned and she laughed a little. "I wonder what they taste like. You know dad would be able to hunt one down."

Beth kept smiling as she rubbed her bump, feeling the movements from within.

They both turned their heads when they heard steps approaching and Eli hurried off the bed to go open the door in the floor.

"Lunch," Daryl announced, carrying up a tray with a bowl steaming with something and something in a tin cup. "Eli, go on down and get yourself some," he said. "Matt's made potato soup," he said and Beth smiled, hungry as she always felt like she was these days. Matt had proven himself to be quite handy in the kitchen.

"Okay. I'll be back, mama," he promised her and then throwing on his coat and scarf again, Eli flew down the step ladder, the door slamming shut behind him.

Daryl put the tray down on the table next to the bed and then helped Beth sit up a bit more, making sure the pillows were situated behind her back comfortably. She smiled up at him and took his hand, guiding it over to her bump. Daryl stood and smiled a bit as he felt the little kick against his palm.

"Feel that?" She asked and he nodded. "Now…" she slowly guided his hand across to the other side of her bump. After a moment, there was another kick. "Feel that?"

Daryl's brow furrowed as he looked down at her and she watched as realization slowly dawned across his face. He sat down heavily on the side of the bed beside her as if his knees had just given out and she pursed her lips together to keep from smiling too wide at him or possibly even laughing.

Daryl blinked at her and then down to her bump before back to her face. "What… does that mean…"

Beth smiled and nodded eagerly and her hand held tightly onto his. "Twins."

…

* * *

 **One more chapter to go. Thank you so much for reading and please take a moment to review!  
**

 **Also, I am working on the most random one-shot of all time, but it's an idea I cannot shake so I _have_ to write it. Just to warn you. **


	40. End

**A little bit of a time jump again in this chapter. No matter how many "years" have passed since I've begun Beth and Daryl on this journey, in my mind, they will always look together as they did in S4.**

 **Thank you to everyone. A million times thank you.**

* * *

…

 **Chapter Forty.** End.

It was a beautiful, slightly warm, spring day and Beth opened all of the windows in the kitchen before she began making preparations for breakfast.

She took down the jar of acorn flour and she then stood on her toes and untied one of the bushels of lavender that was hanging upside down from one of the exposed rafters, drying out. With her pestle, she then began grinding down the flowers down into the mortar. She began humming as she worked, but stopped after just a few seconds when she felt a patting against her foot. Beth looked down and instantly broke into a smile. She bent down and hefted the baby up into her arms and kissed her plump cheek.

"What are you doing over here, baby girl?" She asked and Cecily Dixon smiled, putting her fingers to Beth's lips, and smiling wider still when Beth kissed them.

Beth then turned to see where Jack Dixon had gotten to, but unlike his twin sister, Jack was still where Beth had placed both babies; on their play mat near the stove less than a foot away, currently gnawing on the ear of his stuffed rabbit.

From the moment she could feel two babies kick inside of her and had told Daryl that they were having twins, it seemed like everyone – except for her – promptly began freaking out. Even Eli watched her like a hawk, sitting with her every day in bed to make sure she didn't get up and she had to remind him that, yes, she could still get up to go to the bathroom. And she really had to go to the bathroom all of the time.

Twins. What the hell would they do with twins, Daryl had asked. Beth had smiled and had shrugged, telling him that they would do what they had done with one baby; just times two. Daryl hadn't looked amused and every day, it seemed like he was going out on runs to try and scavenge for anything and everything that could be considered helpful for their surprise coming in three more months.

The real jackpot had come during her eighth month. Spencer and Aaron had left the mountain and headed a bit further west, still staying in Georgia, and had found another antiques store. They had scouted it out first and then had come back to their mountain, telling them everything still inside of the dusty shop. Blackie had succumbed to old age the month before – giving them enough meat to easily last them for the rest of the cold winter and enough fat to make soap and more candles and still have some left over for cooking. Anna, Eli, Aiden and Bee had taken his horseshoes as mementos.

They hadn't known how they were going to get things back from the antiques store until Matt suggested they hitch up the goats. There was a smaller wagon than the big one they used to hitch to Blackie and taking three of the goats, they hitched them up to the small wagon and it was decided that Aaron, Spencer, Matt and Rosita would go while Anna and Daryl stayed with Beth – in case the babies decided to come early. Anna would know how to deliver them and Daryl didn't want to leave Beth's side in case something – anything – happened while the others were gone.

It had taken two trips – spaced a few days apart so the four were able to rest before heading out again. The antiques store seemed to be like the one Daryl and Beth had found years earlier when still living in the St. George subdivision and it was amazing to Beth – and slightly confusing – that people _still_ hadn't thought to scavenge. Even if they didn't want antiques, the stores still had quilts and candles.

The four brought back every single thing they could – leaving the heavier machinery behind since they already had a corn sheller and grinder and didn't need another pair. But they had brought back a crib, having taken it apart, and then Daryl putting it back together once the pieces had been brought up into the tree house and the babies would be able to share it with no problem.

Mulligan's family had already had a highchair that they had used on Eli, Aiden and Bee when they were babies and had needed it so they had only brought back another so the two babies could sit in a highchair of their own at the same time.

There had also been quilts, candles, books and records. More empty jars for canning and kitchen utensils that they didn't know if they needed, but they brought back with them anyway. Sewing thread for the machine and more knitting needles. Gardening tools and vegetable seeds as well as few toys for the kids and babies.

And wherever they were scrounging and found onesies, they grabbed them.

Beth's water broke just at the end of her eighth month and Rosita and Anna had all of the herbs already picked for her that she needed and Daryl held her hand the entire time and never left her side as everyone else waited below with fists clenched around their hearts and their breath held in their lungs.

Beth had been absolutely terrified along with the rest of them, but she also knew that whatever happened would happen and that it was in God's hands.

But God must have been listening to all of the sudden barrage of prayers coming from everyone on the small farm in the Blue Ridge Mountains because he answered.

The labor had been miraculously easy – as easy as giving birth to two babies could be. Jack had slipped out first and Rosita had cut the cord with the sterilized knife and then handed it back to Anna before cleaning the baby's mouth and wrapping him up in a blanket, the baby crying in protest and wanting to be put back in. And less than a minute after her brother, Cecily came with much the same reaction.

Beth had been crying with pain, but then she had been crying for a completely different reason, completely overwhelmed because there were _two_ babies crying. Two babies with ten toes and ten fingers each and healthy lungs and they were here. Safe and sound. Looking over to Daryl, she saw that he was looking at their babies, a mixture of surprise and shock on his face and tears in his eyes.

The past year hadn't been easy, but nothing had ever been too easy and they were all used to working hard. And it wasn't as if Daryl and Beth had to do this on their own. Everyone had a hand in helping with the babies and the kids and the farm. Some mornings, Beth woke up before anyone else and she laid in bed for a moment longer, just watching the bedroom get lighter with the rising sun and listen to Daryl's soft snoring from beside her in her ear and she could still remember that last day at the prison so clearly – before she and Daryl ran off together to escape it – and she thought of it sometimes and everything that had happened since that day.

Sometimes, it felt like she had already lived enough for five lives and she was so grateful every morning that she was still here and actually living; not just surviving.

Whistling a tune, Matt entered the kitchen through the backdoor, a basket of eggs in one arm and a small pail of milk in his other hand. He set both down on the counter.

"Good morning," Beth smiled. "Can you take her? I need both hands."

Matt didn't even pause before leaning over and plucking Cecily from her arms. He kissed the baby on the cheek and Cecily giggled as she always did when Matt kissed her cheek or head. He had spent the past few months, growing out a beard, and the babies always laughed when they felt it against their skin.

Hearing light footsteps coming from upstairs, both turned to see Bee hurrying down, dressed for the day, her curly hair a mess on her head. Rosita did her hair for her, but Rosita had already taken a basket of clothes to the creek to start on washing bright and early that morning. Bee poked first into her parents' bedroom and then came back out into the kitchen.

"Is my daddy home yet?" She asked.

Beth gave her a gentle smile and shook her head. "Not yet. Maybe today."

The little girl seemed to deflate at that a little and Matt reached over, playfully rubbing her head.

When the snow began melting and they could tell spring was on the way, Aaron, Spencer and Anna decided to go on a run; their first since the antiques store over a year before, before the twins were born. Beth had run out of cinnamon during the winter and though she had assured everyone that it was alright – that she could still make their tree bark without it – they had been determined to find her more.

They had been gone for nearly a week now.

"They'll be back soon," he promised her. "Want to go see your mom?" He asked. "She can help with that rat's nest you call hair," he teased and he grinned when Bee gasped at him. "You can't push me." He took a step back from the intimidating almost-six year old. "I'm holding a baby."

Bee did her best to keep her angry frown up at him and Matt just grinned. He gave Cecily another kiss and then went to go place her down once more on the mat next to Jack. He straightened and looked back to Bee.

"Want a piggyback ride?" He asked her.

Immediately, Bee's frown was gone and she was beaming as she hurried over to Matt; Matt crouching down and Bee scrambling up onto his back.

"We'll be back," he promised to Beth.

"You have plenty of time," Beth smiled at them both. "I haven't even finished mixing the biscuits up yet."

As she stirred the biscuit mix together in the bowl and then began making twelve separate little helpings on the tray, she glanced over to the babies every few seconds. Jack was still chewing on his rabbit ear and Cecily was crawling away again, towards one of the chairs at the table. She smiled as Cecily gripped the seat of the chair and then pulled herself to her feet.

The twins had been crawling for a few months now and were now entering the beginning stages of walking. It was hard enough to keep up with their crawling. They seriously had to start baby proofing things around here.

Beth finished rolling the biscuits out and slipped them into the oven, closing the door with a firm push. She looked back again and this time, Jack was crawling away, heading towards Rosita's sewing supplies in the corner of the living room. Beth hurried after him and he huffed at her with displeasure when she hoisted him up into her arms.

"I know. I'm a terrible mother for not letting you play with knitting needles," Beth told him as she carried him back into the kitchen.

She kissed Jack's cheek and then set him down into his highchair and then went to grab Cecily to do the same.

"Whew. When did that happen?" She asked, looking at her, and Cecily just smiled.

Luckily, Daryl chose that moment to come into the cabin, having been helping Eli pick flowers to lay on Ruby's grave as they did every other morning.

"Perfect timing," Beth smiled at him and passed their daughter to him.

He took one whiff of her and smirked, giving a nod before carrying her outside to go change her cloth diaper and get her cleaned up. Beth went to the sink to wash her hands so she could get started on frying tomato slices when Jack began to cry.

"Eli, can you get his rabbit?" She asked her oldest son as he came into the kitchen and he nodded, going to collect the stuffed animal from the play mat on the floor and going to give it to him. Jack instantly stopped crying as he began gnawing on the floppy ear once again.

"Need help?" He asked as she dried her hands.

Beth smiled, wiping her hands. "Could you go down to the cellar and bring me up a jar of tomatoes? Thank you, sweetie," she said and he nodded, turning and heading down the stairs. Beth turned and opened the oven door just enough to peak in to check on the biscuits, to see that they were baking alright, before going to the basket of eggs Matt had brought in, looking over each one, picking those she would fry for breakfast and setting aside those she would cook with later that day for dinner preparations.

Lily came trotting in then and first, she stopped to sniff at Jack's foot and then she went to go to Beth, who rubbed her behind her ear. The wolf then went and plopped herself down in front of the stove, setting her head down on the floor between her paws. Lily usually went out hunting at night and returned in time for the others to eat their breakfasts and they were always relieved and happy when she returned. Buck and Spitz had left just before the first snow fell that winter and even though the kids had been upset, Daryl had told them – reminded them – that they were wild animals and Buck and Spitz were still young wolves. They wanted to go and find their own packs.

And who knew? They might want to find their ways back here one day.

A few minutes behind Lily, Rosita, Matt and Bee all returned – Bee once again on Matt's back and a basket of wet laundry to be hanged on the line outside in Rosita's arms – and Eli came up from the root cellar with a jar of tomatoes in his hands. And then Daryl came back with a freshly changed – and much better smelling – Cecily in his arms. He gave her a kiss and set her down into her high chair next to her brother.

"I'll go get Aiden," Matt volunteered, leaving once more. With Anna gone for the past few days, Aiden had been helping Matt out in the barn and he was now making sure that all of the animals were getting their breakfasts, too.

Bee went to Daryl and took his hand, tugging on it. "Is my daddy coming home today?" She asked him just as she had asked Beth and Matt and Rosita down at the creek.

Daryl gave her little hand a squeeze. "Maybe," he said, not wanting to promise her. Bee had been asking this every morning for the past week and the adults all knew that Aaron, Spencer and Anna had had to walk a long way for anything.

And all because of cinnamon.

No one had any idea when they would get back. And no one was going to think of the possibility of them not getting back at all.

Beth fried the tomato slices and eggs and Rosita went to pull the lavender biscuits from the oven and just as they were setting the table and putting the food out, Lily lifted her head and let out a bark suddenly, startling them all. They all sat and listened for the sound that had disturbed her. They then all heard it.

A sharp whistle.

"Daddy!" Bee exclaimed and pushed herself from the table, running outside, followed close by Aiden, and then everyone was hurrying outside.

Daryl grabbed his crossbow and ran for the gate and Matt followed after him, Lily right at their sides. They made sure the gate was closed securely behind them before they ran off, hearing the whistle again. The three were coming through the trees and as soon as Daryl saw them – all alive and accounted for – he let go of a breath he felt like he had been holding for the past week.

Matt took off running and when Anna saw him, she began running straight for him.

They collided with one another and Anna knocked Matt down onto the ground and he laughed as he hugged her tightly and she peppered his face with kisses. Aaron and Spencer were both smiling as they and Daryl walked to one another. Aaron took his pack off one shoulder and brought it around, opening it up and pulling out a decent size container of cinnamon. Daryl smirked a little when he saw that they had found it and without a word, he put one arm around Aaron's shoulders and his other around Spencer's and he pulled them both into a hug.

He hoped they didn't think he was hugging them because of cinnamon.

…

Daryl's eyes slowly peeled open and for a moment, he laid there, wondering what had woken him up. The room was nearly pitch black, letting him know that it was still the middle of the night and he listened for a sound, wondering what had brought him out of his deep sleep. It took another second for him to realize that Beth was no longer in bed at his side.

He sat up, scrubbing a hand down his face, and he looked towards the crib next to their bed, but Jack and Cecily were both sound asleep. He then heard a soft murmuring from across the tree-house. It was Beth and she was sitting on the edge of Eli's bed, stroking the little boy's hair.

 _"_ _But since it falls unto my lot,_

 _That I should rise and you should not,_

 _I'll gently rise and I'll softly call,_

 _good night and joy be with you all._

 _Good night and joy be with you all."_

Beth sang the song softly and Daryl heard the familiar song, being transported instantly to years before, when he first heard her singing that very song – him hearing her singing for the first time at all – and he remembered how he hadn't been able to take his eyes off of her at that moment.

"Thank you, mom," Eli said softly.

Beth leaned down and kissed his head. "Good night. I love you," she said.

"Love you, too," he returned and she kissed his head again.

A few moments later, Daryl heard the creaking of floorboards as she crossed the tree-house back to their bed. She paused, peeking in on the twins, smiling faintly, and she then lifted her eyes, seeing that he was awake, and she remained smiling as she slipped back in beneath the quilt. Daryl flipped it over her, making sure that she was completely covered, and she snuggled into his arms as they both got themselves settled once again.

Daryl's head came to a rest on her shoulder and Beth began sifting her fingers through his hair. "He okay?" He asked, already falling back asleep.

"Just a bad dream. He's okay," Beth answered and her lips rested against his forehead. Daryl closed his eyes, his arms tight around her, not wanting to let go.

Never wanting to let go.

His wife. The mother of his children. His best friend. His partner in every sense of the word.

Without Beth, Daryl was pretty sure that there would be no him anymore.

"I love you, Beth," he mumbled to her, falling back asleep. "Love you so damn much."

And Beth squeezed her arms around him and kissed his forehead. "I love you, too."

To the sound of their children breathing – all safe and at peace – and listening to the breathing of one another, Beth and Daryl slowly fell back asleep.

…

 **The End.**

* * *

 **I honestly feel like crying. I already feel a loss from not having this story to write anymore.  
**

 **Thank you very much for reading and please leave me a review one more time!**


End file.
